The Winds of Change
by Pixel and Stephanie Forever
Summary: Things happen after Sirius's death, and Harry is thrown into a position of power with very little warning. When old allies turn on him, Harry is forced to deal with them as well as a relationship with Hermione. Can Harry deal with a possible civil war?
1. The Beginning

**The Beginning**

"GET YOUR WORTHLESS HIDE DOWN HERE, BOY!" thundered Vernon Dursley. Harry put down his homework and went down to face his Uncle.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon?" he said when stood in the living room.

"What do you know of this?" Vernon demanded, pushing an envelope at him. It was the sort used by most of the wizarding world, and had the Hogwarts crest in wax on the back. Harry was sure that the handwriting was Dumbledore's, and the boy wondered why the Headmaster was writing to him.

"It's a letter from the school" Harry replied.

"Got yourself expelled, have we?" sneered Vernon. Harry ignored the remark and opened the envelope and pulled out the letter to read it.

_Dear Mr Potter_

_First of all, I would like to say again how sorry I am for the loss of Sirius. If it helps in anyway, then remember that he never felt a thing, and that it was all very quick._

_My purpose of writing to you is to inform you that Sirius left a will, and no doubt he has named you as one of the benefactors of it. I must ask that you do not attend the will reading as it is a dangerous time in the magical community at the moment. Voldemort has been active recently, and has killed or captured a number of important people. From what the Order has learned, he is thinking about making a move on your home. I will attend in your place, and inform you either by letter or a visit of what you have been given – should I deem you ready to know._

_I hope you enjoy the rest of the holidays_

_Regards_

_Albus Dumbledore_

"Voldemort?" Vernon frowned. "I thought that he was dead. That is what your headmaster said to us" he added.

"He was dead, and now he is back again" Harry replied. There was a long silence before he spoke again. "Uncle Vernon, there is something you should know" and to his surprise his Uncle agreed and said they would talk after dinner. Every time Harry read the letter, he felt a wave of anger at the comment _should I deem you ready to know_. Surely Dumbledore couldn't decide what Harry should do about this?

#

"Hermione!" a voice shouted up the stairs.

"What is it?" Hermione called back.

"There is a letter here for you" the woman's voice said. Hermione put down her homework and went downstairs. Her mother handed her a letter which bore the crest of Gringotts on it.

"Thanks, Mum" Hermione said. She opened the letter and read through it several times. "I have to be in London tomorrow" she said. "Sirius Black named me in his will, and it seems I have to be present at the reading of it. I can't wait to see Harry again" she added quickly.

"Oh?" her mother raised an eyebrow. Emma Granger watched the reaction of her daughter with mild amusement.

"I want to know how he is coping after losing Sirius" Hermione said, glaring at her mother. "Its odd that he hasn't written any letters to me so far" the last statement was quiet – almost as if Hermione was deep in thought.

"Your father is at that conference until tomorrow afternoon, and I have a full day at the surgery" her mother said.

"I'll get there - don't you worry about that, Mum" and Hermione rushed up to her room to write a letter to Harry. She wondered why he had not replied to any of her letters, and hoped this one would make him do so.

#

"So, boy, explain why I am not at my Bridge club tonight" Petunia said.

"Because something is happening that you should know about" Harry said. "Regardless of what you think of me and the Wizarding world, this is something that is important. Now, what do you know of Voldemort?" he asked, and was secretly pleased to see all three Dursleys twitch.

"He's dead" Petunia said. "He was killed after he killed your parents – we _all_ know that boy" she snapped.

"Well he is back" Harry replied. "Voldemort never truly died that night, and his… spirit… still remained after the body was gone. A year ago he got his body back, and he has been taking and killing dozens of people. He also kills muggl – normal – people too. Remember that explosion the other week in Chester?" the Dursleys nodded, "Well he was the cause of that. Voldemort's followers killed over a hundred people – both normal and magical. Uncle Vernon will tell you that I got a letter from Professor Dumbledore this afternoon, and he said that Voldemort is making plans to come here and kill me and anybody else he finds" and all three of his relatives went pale.

"So what do we do?" asked Dudley.

"I know that Uncle Vernon has some holiday time owed to him, so I suggest that you three take it and go on holiday somewhere outside the country. If Voldemort tries anything, then the International Confederation will go after him. They leave Britain to its own affairs" Harry said.

"And what about you?" asked Vernon.

"I will stay at Hogwarts for the rest of the summer" Harry replied. "It is the most safest place in our world, and he would need a lot of time to get through the many defences around the castle" he added. "I'm going to pack everything I have and then go in the night. That should help throw off anybody following me" and there was a long and silent silence before Petunia spoke.

"Why are you doing this for us?" she asked quietly. "And after everything we did to you over the years" and Harry blew a breath through his nose.

"There are many reasons why. There is a prophecy about the war which is to come" he replied.

"War?" Dudley said. "I ain't heard me anything about no war" and Harry shook his head.

"There is a war, and it is your war too – whether you like it or not" Harry said. "And I am doing this, Aunt Petunia, because you are the only living relative to my mother. Perhaps, in time, you can get over you anger towards the magical community and cherish the memory of your sister" and Harry walked away before they could see him cry.

"You know, if we petitioned the courts, we could get rid of him and that Voldemort bloke wouldn't have any reason to come here" Vernon said.

"I don't pretend to understand half of what that brat said, but I think all we have to do is say that he is not welcome here. Then his own bloody magic would stop him from coming back here ever again" Petunia said. What none of the three realised was that Harry was listening to them from the hallway. He ran up the stairs to his room and started packing his clothes, books, trinkets and everything else he owned inside his school trunk and the expanding trunk that he now owned. He was a quarter of the way through when he figured he could get it done quicker with a wave of his wand. Knowing that it would cost him greatly, he cast the correct spell to pack everything up into the two trunks – shrinking Hedwig's cage beforehand. After doing another spell to make them lighter, he put on his jacket and went downstairs and out of the house before the Dursleys knew what was going on. Harry's main objective was where he would go for the time being. If he went to the Weasleys, then he faced being found by the Ministry and arrested and sent to jail for Underage Magic – assuming he was not expelled from Hogwarts and his wand snapped. The heavens opened and Harry tightened his jacket against the wind and the rain and walked on.

#

The charm that had been set up to detect underage magic went off, and a letter was sent out to Little Whinging. The fact that the Owl returned several minutes later was something of a surprise to the staff of the Misuse of Magic Office. They knew of only two situations when this would happen. The first was when the under aged person was dead, or they had been cast out of the family home. A spy for Dumbledore alerted him to the news, and the Headmaster alerted all the Order members he could get his hands on and sent them out looking for Harry. A search at the Dursleys had proven fruitless when Vernon and Petunia said that they had thrown Harry out after he told them some wild tale about magic and a killer on the loose. He had been to neither Hermione home, the Burrow or attempted to get inside Grimmauld Place. What was more disturbing to the Order, was the fact Harry had sent no message.

Harry, meanwhile, was walking through the dark streets of Surrey looking for someplace to spend the rest of the night. As he walked, soaked to the skin, down a street with well kept gardens, he realised that he could get the Knight Bus to London and sleep at the _Leaky Cauldron_ for at least a night or two. He was about to summon it when he suddenly thought that if people were looking for him, then public transport was one of the first things to be watched. Or the bus's crew would blab their mouths as to who they had on their bus – Harry didn't know which. He started looking for a bridge he could get some rest under when he spotted a familiar looking car. A large Rover was in the driveway, and on the rear bumper was a sticker that said '_Dentists, we always tell the tooth, the tooth and nothing but the tooth_' and he was sure to who the car belonged to. Deciding to take a chance, he dragged his wet trunks up the driveway and knocked on the door.

#

"See who that is, Hermione" Emma called from the kitchen. Hermione put her book down and went into the hallway to answer the door. It was most likely a takeaway delivery driver who had the wrong house – it happened from time to time. Putting the chain on the door, she opened a little bit and peered outside. All she could see was somebody with two very large trunks, so she took the chain off and opened the door wide.

"HARRY!" Hermione shouted in shock.

"Surprise" Harry said miserably. He looked every inch like the proverbial drowned rat.

"What are you doi… oh come in… come in" and she grabbed one soggy jacketed arm and dragged him inside. "What are you doing here? Professor Dumbledore has nearly the entire Order after you" Hermione said.

"I told the Dursleys about the war, Hermione" Harry said. "I gave them a chance to get out of it, but they made plans to throw me out. I heard, so I used magic to pack all of my things away and just started walking out the house. It started raining, I got wet, its dark and I'm scared" he finished in a tiny voice.

"Who is it, herm" Emma stopped talking as she saw her daughter holding the hand of a six foot tall pile of wet clothing.

"Mum, meet Harry Potter. Harry, this is Emma, my mother" Hermione introduced him.

"Achoo" Harry sneezed.

"Mum, those relatives of were going to throw him out of their house, so he just walked out. Can he stay the night until I can call Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione asked.

"Of course he can" Emma said. "He sounds as if he could do with a hot drink and a warm bed. The spare room is always made up" she added.

"Please don't call Dumbledore" Harry said.

"Why?" asked Hermione. "He is worried about you" but Harry was adamant.

"Please don't do it" he begged. "I'll tell you why later" he said. "I need to get out of these wet clothes" and Hermione took Harry upstairs and showed him where he would be staying, and the bathroom at the end of the landing. He stepped into the shower and let it warm and cleanse his body, before drying off quickly and getting into the pyjamas he had put aside. Hermione stood outside with a mug of hot chocolate in her hands and gave it to him.

"You alright?" she asked. Harry took a sip of the steaming and liquid and shook his head.

"We need to talk" he said simply.

**A/N:**

**A short but sweet first chapter!**

**Just so you all know, this fic's summery will change after chapter 3 – I just don't want to give away the surprise _just_ yet…**


	2. The Summer

**The Summer**

"Why don't you want me to talk to Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione asked Harry.

"I think Dumbledore is trying to control me" Harry said. "I got a letter saying that I was named in Sirius's will, but I never got a letter from Gringotts. Dumbledore told me that he would go in my place, and tell me if I was given anything… if he deemed me ready or entitled to know" he added.

"Was that the only reason?" Hermione pressed. Her friend took another swig of his hot chocolate before answering.

"He said that the Death Eaters knew about it, and that I was in danger if I left Privet Drive" Harry said. "But how could they have known if they didn't send me a letter? Voldemort would have to have a spy in the Post Office in order to know that kind of information" he shook his head.

"Well come with me tomorrow" Hermione said. "I was named in the will too, so I was having to go anyway. Have you had anything to eat?" she asked him.

"No" Harry replied. "Even though I had something important to tell them, the Dursleys didn't give me any food at all. Only had half a slice of toast this morning" and Hermione dearly wished to give his relatives a wisdom tooth extract _minus_ an injection.

"I'll make you some soup up" she said. "Anything you'd like?" and Harry shook his head.

"Just anything but French Onion please" he said, and Hermione sat him in the living room which had a fire going already in the fireplace.

"It has been a good while since I last saw you" Emma said to Harry. Harry had almost forgotten she was around, and he nodded in agreement.

"It has"

"Listen Harry" Emma said. "Hermione has told me of what happened, and that there is a big fight going on in the magical world. Tell me, please – whats going on?" and Harry thought for a long time before replying.

"First of all, it isn't just some fight. It's a war, and the war is going very badly for us. Lots of good people are being killed by Voldemort, and there is nothing that we can seemingly do about it. These gas explosions, bridge collapses, strange lights in the sky… that's all from the fighting going on. The war is going very badly for us, more so then what is generally known. Some people believe that if we don't get a break soon, we may have no choice but to surrender within six months" and Emma paled at the news.

"Can I get my daughter out of this?" she asked.

"No…" Harry shook his head again. "Apart from the fact she is what is known as Muggle Born, Hermione has stood up to him and his side before. Add to that the fact she is my friend, and you have a tough bucket of monkeys" he looked at Emma. "I'm sorry about that, but you should know the truth. Maybe we'll get a lucky break and Voldemort dies after slipping on a banana skin or something. Your only bet is to move out of the country, but Voldemort has spies and contacts all over Europe. Besides that, Hermione would find a way to get back here and stand by my side at the fi…" he stopped as Hermione came in from the kitchen with a bowl of steaming hot mushroom soup.

#

A change was taking place inside Hogwarts. The position of Headteacher of the school was vacant, and Dumbledore had returned to the post on just his say so. This was considered by the castle to be an attack upon the school, so Dumbledore was magically removed as Headmaster of Hogwarts as a search for a new occupier began. What was needed was somebody who almost always thought things through, was fair minded, considered to be honourable, dependable… Four names popped up, and the school examined them closely. McGonagall's name was discounted because of her stated opinion she was not worthy of such a post. Filius Flitwick was also out of the running because he was content to just be a charms teacher and nothing else. The next name, Amelia Bones, was removed from the list for the same reason – contentment in current position. There was also the fact that she would be key to fighting the war from the DMLE, and not a pile of stones filled with kids.

The castle could not figure out what to do about informing the new Headmaster of his appointment.

#

Harry awoke the next morning and it took him several moments to figure out where he was. After getting himself showered and dressed, he headed down to find breakfast in full swing.

"Good Morning, Harry"

"Murugh" he replied.

"Is he alright?" asked Emma.

"Quite" Hermione replied. "How many sugars?" she asked Harry.

"Murugh Murugh" Harry replied, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"There you go" Hermione gave him a cup of tea. "Harry… don't take this the wrong way or anything like that, but how about we get you some new clothes? We can take money from Gringotts and get it converted to sterling. If the Dursleys have thrown you out, then there is no reason for you to dress in their hand me downs" and Harry looked at her.

"Murugh murugh for me?" he asked, the tea kicking his mind into gear at last.

"Of course I'd do that for you" Hermione replied with a smile. "There are lots of places we could go to, and you'll look a very nice young man indeed" she added.

"What would I do without you, Hermione?" Harry smiled, and then set about eating breakfast of French Toast. He was amazed by how quickly Hermione could get organised and she had telephoned the train station for times of trains to London, looked up times of buses and had everything ready that they would need. What they didn't know was that Dumbledore had an inkling that Harry would appear. His plan was to wait until the meeting was underway, then rush in and claim that Harry was in danger, and the Headmaster would take over for him.

He was wrong about that one two counts.

#

A short tube ride got Harry and Hermione to Diagon Alley, after going through the _Leaky Cauldron_ and they walked down to the bank. Once inside, they went to a free teller and explained who they were and what they wanted. Both were shown into a large meeting room with comfortable leather chairs, and they talked for a while until the door opened and admitted the Weasley family.

"Harry!" Mrs Weasley hugged Harry. "Where were you last night? You had half the Order looking for you" she said.

"I left before my relatives could throw me out" Harry replied. "Went to Hermione's house because she was nearer, and I knew that I'd be alright at her house" and the door opened and admitted what seemed like the entire Tonks family, Remus Lupin and Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. The two rivals glared at each other as the Goblin in charge of the reading walked in and sat at the head of the long table.

"Good Morning" Griphook said. "This is the will reading of Sirius Black. You have all been mentioned as benefactors of the will, and are also here to collect on behalf of those who can not attend for good reasons. Does anybody have any objections to me starting the reading now?" he asked.

"Just get on with it…" Draco said.

"As you wish" Griphook muttered something that Hermione smiled at. "Mr Black used some interesting words, and I quote directly from his own speech

_Hi everybody…_

_If you are reading this, then there has either been a great cock up in the legal department or I am in fact dead. I presume I was killed in battle, and not by the mad father of twin 14 year old girls whilst climbing out of their bedroom window after shagging them both senseless. As I guess you are all eager to find out what I have left you, what do you say that we get on with this?_

_I, Sirius Black, do bequeath the following items:_

_To my favourite cousin, Andromeda – I reinstate you to the family, and leave you the sum of 1 million Galleons. You can also take a few reminders of the first guy you had a crush on._

_To Nymphadora_

"Drop dead" Tonks said.

"_Already have done… I leave you the sum of half a million Galleons and the motorbike that you always liked._

_To cousin, Narcissa, I leave you the sum of one Knut and cast you out of the family. Your bride price shall be recovered from the Malfoy family._

_To my sweet and darling nephew Draco, I leave sod all._

_To the Weasley family_…" Griphook paused for a second as he read what the family were to get. Harry and Hermione noted the looks that passed over Ginny and Ron. "_…I leave Fred and George the sum of one million each, plus some of the notes for making jokes._

_Arthur Weasley is to get my entire collection of _Why Things Work_, the sum of twenty thousand galleons and a rubber duck named Doris._

_Ginny Weasley is to receive some of my dresses and skirts, shares in both the Nimbus and Firebolt companies and a boot to the head_" and Griphook lobbed a large steel toe capped boot at the girl. It caught her on the side of her skull, and sent her spinning to the floor.

"_Remus Lupin is to receive the rest of my wardrobe, a haircut, the property of 12 Grimmauld Place and the sum of 250,000 Galleons._

_Hermione Jane Granger is to receive the sum of 1 million Galleons, the contents of most of the library from 12 Grimmauld Place and my thanks for watching over my godson, Harry._

_My Godson, Harry James Potter. I was supposed to look after you in the event that your parents were killed before you became of age, but there was a minor hitch with the idea. However, I can do one thing for you. I hereby emancipate you – that means you are thought of as an adult. I leave you the sum of 10 Million Galleons and everything else you want to have that has not already been given away. Do not let anybody dictate what you have to do or where you have to go._

_Wishing you were here…_

_Sirius_"

"But I didn't get anything" said Ron in a whining voice. "Sirius owes me for looking after Harry" but most people ignored him.

"Those people who have been unable to attend will be sent letters detailing what they received, and sent with their designated persons. They were not mentioned during the reading at Mr Black's request" Griphook said. "Assistants will take you to sign paperwork. Mr Potter and Miss Granger will remain" the Goblin added. Harry and Hermione went back to their seats as the others filed out – Ginny floated out because she was still unconscious. Through the doorway, they saw Dumbledore speaking hurriedly to the Weasleys before the door shut. "That should last for long enough" said Griphook as he waved his hand. A slight shine was now around the doorway.

"Do you mind us asking why you have requested us to stay back?" Hermione asked.

"What I am about to say is very important" Griphook said. "Albus Dumbledore has been removed as Headmaster of Hogwarts. That in itself is nothing of great importance, but I took the liberty of going over your account, Mr Potter and have discovered that he has been taking a great deal of money and giving it to a family known as the Dursleys. He has also been giving your money to the Weasley family since their eldest child started Hogwarts. He told Gringotts he was your guardian, and he showed us forms and papers to that effect. Now that you have been emancipated, Mr Potter, we can do something about it. There is one small problem though…" the Goblin seemed very on edge.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, forgetting the news about Dumbledore and concerning himself with Griphook's distress.

"What I have told you was deemed to be a secret between ourselves and Dumbledore. If any of the other members of the bank's staff find out, I could be fired from my position. However, your parents treated me with kindness and respect whenever they visited. I grew to know them very well indeed, and I was deeply saddened by their murders by You-Know-Who. That is one of the reasons I made up a complete and accurate list of all transactions since three weeks after they were killed. Mr Potter, what I have just told you breaks our secrecy rules and goes against everything that a Gringotts goblin stands for. For my sake, as well as yours, keep this hidden away until you can read it in peace and quiet and total safety" and he glanced around before handing Harry a large brown files and a leather accounting book.

"Why am I here?" Hermione asked.

"You are the brightest witch of your age, Miss Granger. Apart from myself, there is only you who could help Mr Potter to make sense of what that man has been doing for a decade and a half" Griphook said, looking around as if someone else was in the room. "I looked up the records concerning you, Mr Potter, and it seems as if there are more charges that you could give Dumbledore – not just the fraud. I wish I could say more, but you do not know or _what_ is listening" and the meeting drew to an end.

"If you are ever in need of help, Griphook, then get a message to me quickly, and I'll come to your aid" Harry said, then opened the door to face Dumbledore.

#

Albus Dumbledore was not a very happy man at all. The waiting assistants had refused to let him go into the meeting, and it seemed as if Harry was now no longer under the control of the Dursleys. Molly Weasley had informed him that Harry was emancipated, and only now was Harry coming out with Hermione Granger. Perhaps he could still salvage something of today.

"Harry, my dear boy" he moved towards him.

"Good Morning, Sir" said the pair together.

"Is there something I can do for you?" Harry asked.

"I understand that you have left your relatives' home, and I must ask you to return there at once" Dumbledore put on his best grandfatherly appearance. "You are in great danger because Voldemort's spies have learned of your presence" and Harry frowned.

"Voldemort's pies know where I am?" he asked. "I don't think I am in danger from a bunch of bakers, Sir" he added.

"Harry, we can get your things from Miss Grangers. I am ordering you to go as your guardian" Dumbledore's tone was firm.

"That would be a problem" said Hermione.

"What do you mean?" asked Dumbledore. He was expecting Harry to admit he was being silly, and that he was grateful Dumbledore was looking after his best interests. The fact he was not doing so was sounding alarm bells in his head.

"Sirius emancipated me in his will" Harry said. "I signed the paper work a minute ago, and I have a lot of stuff to do" and with that he walked off with Hermione and Griphook.

#

Dumbledore's day got worse when he found all of his belongings in the corridor outside the steps to his office. The stone gargoyles refused to open for him, so he sent for his Deputy Headteacher and she was able to open the door and get to the steps which rotated out for use.

"Can you open my office door as well, Minerva?" Dumbledore sighed with annoyance. "I sometimes suspect that the whole world is…"

_YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED HERE! LEAVE NOW, OR SUFFER A PAINFUL FATE!_ a voice called out.

"Did nobody tell the wards I have returned as Headmaster of the school?" Dumbledore asked.

"It seems not, Albus. I'll go down to the chamber and cast the required spells" McGonagall left Dumbledore sitting in the corridor on the top of one of his travelling trunks.

"I have to find a way to get back into Harry's good books" he mused. "Perhaps if I give him some time to cool off… he'll be still distraught about the death of Sirius I expect" and he was so deep into his thoughts concerning what had gone on in a closed session at the bank, that he didn't hear McGonagall coming back until he tapped him on the shoulder.

"I have checked the wards three times, Albus" she said. "And on the third time, the castle produced a written note that I was to give to you. Once I have done that, I am to leave you here or else be sacked" and she handed him a folded piece of parchment and then turned and walked off to her office – smiling as she went.

"Curiouser and curiouser…" Dumbledore muttered, and opened the note.

_Dear Albus Dumbledore._

_Please note that you are no longer Headmaster here, and that your replacement has already been chosen. Your continued occupation of the Headteacher's office and rooms will not be tolerated any longer. You have twenty minutes to sling your hook_

_Yours truly,_

_The Castle_

_PS: You owe the Sorting Hat three Sickles – it asked me to remind you._

#

Ron and Ginny had attempted to get Harry round to the Burrow, but he had convinced them that he needed to stay at Hermione's house because of some old rule which was explained after the will reading. After they had left the bank, Hermione took Harry shopping and they got a whole pile of new clothing. They had changed some money into muggle currency, and proceeded to Harrods as their first stop on the big buying trip. They took the train home after nipping back into the _Leaky Cauldron_ and shrinking all of their purchases.

"Do you want to go over these now or tomorrow?" Hermione asked. She pointed at the ledger and file they had been given by Griphook.

"Tomorrow" Harry replied, hanging his new clothes in the wardrobe and putting his old cast offs into a couple of bin liners. "I'm just glad we were able to get out of Harrods in one piece" he muttered.

"You going on about that man again?" Hermione teased him. "He seemed to like you a lot" she added.

"Hermione, I suspect he like a lot of male customers – he works in the men's department" Harry looked over his shoulder at her.

"What do you expect?" Hermione replied. "His title was 'Gentlemen's tailor' after all"

"Mione… he bats for the other team" Harry said.

"He never said he played cricket" Hermione replayed the talking they had done in her mind.

"Oh for fuck's sake, Mione" Harry swore. "He was a card carrying member of the Shirt Lifters Brigade" and then gave a limp wave of his hand for effect.

"OH!" Hermione went a bright shade of red as she got what he meant.

"Yup" Harry nodded as he laughed at his friend's reaction. "Anyway… I was thinking that I would wear those black slacks, the frilled shirt and the loafers for dinner" he said, referring to the fact that Hermione's parents were taking him out for dinner to celebrate his emancipation and escape from the Dursleys.

"I'm glad you're not going back to those horrible people" Hermione said. On the way back to Hermione's house, Harry had told her everything that the Dursleys had done to him over the years. Hermione suggested that he could prosecute them for all the cruelty and neglect, and Harry made a note to look into it when he had the time. For now, he had three weeks of the holiday that were free of trouble and possible injury, and Harry intended to use them up to the maximum. Hermione's parents had talked to their daughter and discovered that the Dursleys had never taken Harry out to any theme park or beach in his entire time with them – excluding the trip to London Zoo of course. Harry unexpectedly burst into tears when the Grangers then asked him if he would to go with them to Alton Towers that weekend. It was the first time that anybody had asked what he wanted to do over the summer, and he poured over every piece of information that he could get about the theme park.

#

Harry and Hermione talked to Neville, Luna, Ginny and Ron on the trip to Hogwarts, and filled them in on what had happened over the summer. Ron almost demanded to know why Harry had not come over to the Burrow for the rest of the summer holidays after the reading of Sirius's will, and Harry replied that the terms of Sirius's final message to Harry had dictated he stay at Hermione's with her and her parents. It hadn't said that _exactly_, but one could interpret Sirius's warning to mean it.

"I wonder who the new Headteacher is at Hogwarts" Neville said. "The _Prophet_ said that we would be told by McGonagall at the Welcoming Feast" and they speculated as to who it could be.

"I hope it isn't Umbridge" said Ginny.

"Strange the castle decided to kick Dumbledore out" Hermione said.

"You don't think its Snape do you?" Ron asked.

"Stop the train" Harry said.

"What for?" Hermione frowned.

"If Snape is Headmaster, then I am transferring to Beauxbaton" Harry replied, and they all laughed. The rest of the trip went on in good company, but Harry was concerned at Hermione being closely watched by Ron. Of course, he did think that Ron had a crush on Hermione. It seemed as if a betting ring was going around on the train, and Harry placed his 10 galleons on it being Hagrid. He knew it was a very long long shot, but he could make a tidy sum if that were the case. After they had arrived at Hogsmeade, they packed into one of the carriages and settled down for the trip up to the castle.

#

McGonagall had tried everything to get people's attention, but nothing seemed to work on the excited pupils – so she went for something desperate.

"Hem hem" and everyone went silent as they heard Umbridge's trademark cough. "That's better…" McGonagall said, and nearly everybody laughed with relief it was not the hated toad. "Now in my hand is the name of the person who shall be the next Headteacher of Hogwarts. I do not know the identity myself, so it will be a surprise for all of us. I assume that you will all give your support to whoever it is…?" McGonagall paused to let everybody nod and say they would. "Very well then. The person is…" McGonagall opened the envelope and took out a single card of parchment. After a second to read it, the Deputy nearly collapsed back into her chair.

"Bloody hell" Ron said. "I think it _is_ Hagrid" and it took a full five minutes for McGonagall to regain the power of speech.

"I believe you are sitting in the wrong chair…" then looked to her left were Snape was sitting and faintly smiled. The Slytherins became rather excited and talkative as the other three houses groaned.

"No…" moaned Neville.

"Would you care to take your seat, Harry Potter?"

**A/N:**

**Okay...** **if we have any Star Trek fans in the house tonight, somebody will spot a quote from Yesturday's Enterprise somewhere in this chapter - modified to fit Harry Potter of course!**

**Well I hope you like this chapter as much as the previous one - 180 emails just concerning this fic!**

**Man am I good...**

**Nothing much to say, but if you think this was good, then you just wait to read chapters 3,4 and 5 which have already been put in the bank. For those of you that are waiting for Escape's Chapter 13, then please continue to wait. I have a big bundle of fics to be released at the end of the month, so you'll not miss out. Also, the annual Pixel And Stephanie Forever Awards are awarded 25th December, and details upcoming about that Tuesday. Just a little something I like to do every year at Christmas time...**

**Author Request: If anybody has a HANDHELD shortwave reciever and who does not want it, then please hold up your hand - I want it!**

**Regards**

**Dr Pixel And Stephanie**


	3. That New Car Smell

**That New Car Smell  
><strong>

"What the fuck?" the voice that spoke wasn't Harry, nor Ron, nor Hermione, nor any of the Gryffindors or other houses – it was, in fact, Snape. Harry's jaw dropped as everybody turned to look at him, and McGonagall had to repeat herself twice before he was able to move from his seat.

"And you shall keep your manners, Severus" McGonagall added. Harry walked around the back of the staff table and sat on the golden throne that was reserved only for the Headteacher. As he lowered his body down, Harry looked up as if expecting a thunderbolt to strike him dead. All the time, students and staff had been protesting the news, and Harry looked all the way down the hall from the top of it.

"Um… Hi…?" he shrugged.

"Good Evening, Headmaster" McGonagall said over the protesting Snape. "If I may suggest, the students seem a little bit hungry. Would you like to start the welcoming feast?" and Harry nodded numbly.

"I… er… you can all eat" and the food appeared on the tables from the kitchens below.

"That boy has not taken his NEWTs" Snape was loudly declaring his intention to write to the board of governors and the Ministry and inform them of the events of this evening. "Minerva, remove him from there this minu…"

"SERVERUS BE SILENT THIS SECOND!" the shout had come from Harry rather then McGonagall. "You will finish your dinner and then remain seated until your house is ready to be taken to their common room" and members from three of the four houses held up boards with **10** on them – showing how much they enjoyed watching Snape being told off. The feast went more or less like any other, except Harry never had had a seat at this table before. He enjoyed a good meal, and had a pleasant talk with McGonagall, his Head of House. At the end of the meal, most of the students had had their fill and awaited the word to leave.

"You have to say a few short words" McGonagall prompted him.

"Huh? Me, Professor?" Harry had forgotten where he was. "Right then" he stood up and spoke to the mass of watching students. "As you know, I am fairly new to this job, but I already have a good working relationship with most of the staff – the Potions Master in particular. Seriously though, I did not know I was going to get this job at all, so I hope that you can bear with me until I know what is happening. For the short term, I would like everybody to act as if somebody more experienced. To those pupils just starting Hogwarts, I have just one thing to say – welcome to the madhouse. Prefects, would you mind taking your houses? I would like to see members of staff in a while. Hermione Granger, please come up here" and with that the hall became busy with everybody moving around.

#

"Sir?" Hermione stood next to Harry.

"I am in trouble, Mione, and I am in need of your help" he replied, and gestured to the seat lately occupied by McGonagall. "You know _Hogwarts, A History_ better then anybody I know. Have you got any idea how I am the Headmaster?" Harry asked. Hermione frowned in thought as she dredged her mind for some information.

"I think there was some rule saying that the castle could choose the next Headteacher if the post was either vacant, the occupier was not worthy of being in charge, or the post was vacant and the board of governors could not appoint somebody" she said after a while. "And what is with the 'Mione'?" and Harry flushed a deep red.

"Sorry… he mumbled. "I thought it sounded nice, and I guess I was wrong" but Hermione smiled.

"I like it" she said. "Do you want me to go and find out everything I can?" and Harry smiled.

"Please" he told her. "And see if you can find me a list of things the Headmaster has to do. If I can't get out of this, then at least I'll be the best I can be at the job" and laughter filled the otherwise empty hall.

"Condensed into something less then two hours of explaining?" Hermione joked.

"Oh, Mione… we work so well together that we should become a couple" Harry shook his head and then looked sideways at her. "What do you say?" and the girl pursed her lips together and a smile appeared on her face.

"Why not" and, with that, she left the hall with a stunned Harry Potter sitting in her wake.

#

"Who the hell does he think he is?" Ron fumed to everyone in the Gryffindor common room that evening. "First he takes the money from me that Sirius should have given me, and he now he becomes Headmaster…? Malfoy is right – he is just a money grabbing bastard" and a hush descended over his little section of the common room. "At least he hasn't taken Hermione from me" he muttered, and the portrait opened and the girl in question walked in and headed towards her dorm room. "Hey, Hermione… why don't you sit with me?" Ron said, moving to the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm a little busy at the moment, Ron. Maybe later though" Hermione added.

"I _said_ sit with me" Ron grabbed Hermione by the arm and swung her around. "You're mine after all"

"Ron, you're hurting me" Hermione could feel the vice like grip she was held in. Now the entire room had gone quiet as they saw the sight.

"Let her go, Ron" Neville had his wand out.

"This is just an argument" Ron told him. "Hermione's forgetting who she is supposed to be spending time with"

"It looks to me as if Hermione does not care for your company, Ron" Neville replied. He was a quiet and mild mannered boy, but when one of his friends was in trouble, then you could always count on him to stand and do the right thing. "Now let her go before I plant you so far into the ground you'll be rooming with the Slytherins" and his wand tip glowed slightly.

"You wouldn't dare" Ron taunted him.

"I'm not surprised why you lost the Prefect position" Neville said, idly polishing the badge on his chest. "Let her go now"

"Make me"

"If you insist" Neville sighed. "_Stupify_" and Ron dropped to the floor from the spell. "Are you alright?" he asked Hermione as she rubbed her arm where Ron had hold of it.

"Nothing broke, Neville. Thank you very much" and she rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek – with some cat calls and wolf whistles from the second to seventh years. "Somebody go and find Professor McGonagall, inform her of what has happened and request instructions. If she wants me, then I'll be with the Headmaster" Hermione went to her room, got the books she wanted from her trunk and then went back down to seek out Harry in his office.

#

"Are you alright?" Harry asked her. The office had not been sorted over the holiday, and so most of Dumbledore's things were still there.

"Yes, thank you Headmaster" Hermione replied, and sat in her chair slightly stiffly.

"Hermione, when it is just you and me, dump the whole headmaster and Sir thing" Harry told his friend.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"I could make it an order…" her new boyfriend teased. "For all I know, I might be out of the job soon. And speaking of which, I would like to know exactly how the hell I have become Headmaster when I haven't finished my schooling yet" he added. Hermione kicked off her shoes and wriggled her toes. She was then surprised to find her chair floating round the desk to land next to Harry's. It was clear that even though they had been together for a short moment, he wanted her by his side – trusting in no one but her. Hermione was determined not let him down, and flicked to the parts of the book that would be of help.

"According to this, there was a situation in 1765 where the staff were all killed. The castle picked a new Headteacher based on the old one's last thought of a person – a magical stagecoach driver named Burt Wagnall. There was one other situation where the board couldn't decide between two candidates, so they jokingly asked the school to pick for them. It seems that the magic in the school has the total ability to pick somebody, and the decision it makes is final and can not be changed" Hermione said, reading aloud the sections for Harry's benefit.

"So I'm stuck?" he said with a groan.

"Not entirely. You can always quit or retire" Hermione said.

"Quit and let the Ministry send in Umbridge again?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so, Mione. Is it possible that I could let McGonagall be Acting Head until at least I have graduated?" he asked.

"Sorry" Hermione shook her head. "But you can delegate most of the tasks to her. You would only have to sign official stuff" but Harry was unsure.

"For two years?" he said. "I know she has done it for a while when Dumbledore was sacked, but for two whole years?" and they talked and worked together for another hour before Hermione said she should get to bed.

"I have to be ready for lessons tomorrow" she told him.

"Forget them" Harry yawned.

"What?" Hermione was scandalised.

"Think about it… it would give the first years a chance to settle in, and you and Neville could give them a tour of the castle. They'd know where everything was that way" and Harry's suggestion was actually a load of sense.

"Shouldn't you be looking for the teachers?" Hermione reminded her boyfriend.

"No need…" Harry grinned. "I found a neat little charm that allows me to do this…"

#

"NOW HEAR THIS! NOW HEAR THIS! ALL TEACHERS TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE. ALL TEACHERS TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE ON THE DOUBLE" Harry's amplified voice filled the castle and had the said persons hurrying to the office quickly.

"You rang?" Snape said as he walked in last. He was several minutes behind Flitwick, and his tone didn't sit well with Harry at all.

"Severus, you are on report" he told the Potions Master

"_You_ put _me_ on report?" Snape sneered.

"And now a warning…" Harry said, reciting what he and Hermione had discovered reading over a book containing all of the rules and regulations for Hogwarts. "Two warnings equal a report" and Snape quickly sat in his seat. The other teachers suddenly were affected by a five second laughing jinx.

"May we know why you have summoned us here?" asked Sprout.

"We need to talk about what has happened here" Harry said. "The magic in the school has decided, for one reason or another, that I am the best person to be Headteacher here. Now I know that several of you…" his eyes flickered to Snape who shifted, "Have concerns about this given the fact I have not completed my entire seven years here. I had a chance to go over some of the things in a number of these files and drawers, and have discovered that my dear predecessor overruled a number of punishments to certain students and houses" and the teachers looked at Snape who wished he could melt through the floor.

"Some members of staff do favour their own house, but I do try to be fair overall" McGonagall said, and Harry nodded at the perfect opening she had given him.

"We will continue to be fair and at the same time show unity amongst the teaching staff. We will still have detentions, but they will not be administered by a student's head of house. It shall instead be taken by another to ensure that nobody gets let off early. I know from experience that lines are the norm for those sessions, but what good is that to anybody? From now on, the system will be that work that was not completed in lesson time will be made up in those sessions. If people can not do it in lessons, then they can do it in their own time" Harry saw most of the teachers nodding on agreement – all but Snape. "You have something to say, Professor Snape?" he asked.

"I do… Headmaster" Snape replied, adding the title on before he could be given another warning. "I wonder why you are choosing to be soft on the students. If they scrubbed cauldrons clean, then it will teach them to pay more attention in my classes" and to his surprise Harry agreed with him.

"That is true enough, however part of your job is to make sure that people both enjoy and understand what they are doing. When I started here, I had no idea of how to make potions because of my past history. The same applies to muggle borns and those had no idea they were magical" Harry looked around the group sat watching him thinking. "Normally, lessons start tomorrow, however there will be none of them tomorrow. My idea is to have the first years shown round the school by the prefects. That way they will have an idea of where everything is such as the Hospital Wing, the trophy room and where lessons will be held under normal circumstances. I would appreciate your help by being in your lessons at the normal times, but explain to them who you are, what your role is and a little of what you teach. I am sure that Professor Snape would agree that he would rather not be doing many detentions this year" and the staff members were amazed at the approach Harry was taking. They had wanted to do something like this for years but had been refused permission to do so by Dumbledore. Harry was taking his own experiences and using them for good.

"Do you plan to continue your education?" asked Flitwick.

"I do indeed" Harry nodded. "These rules will apply to me as much as the newest students here" he added. "Now I guess that you are all wanting to be ready for tomorrow, so you if that is everything you can go. Professors McGonagall and Snape, I'd like you to remain behind" and the others left the office as Snape moved seats to be closer.

"May I ask what you wanted to tell us and not the others?" McGonagall wondered from Harry.

"First of all, I want to have as normal a year as I can possibly get. That is why I would like you to do most of the stuff, and letting me just sign the paperwork so it looks like it is from me" Harry saw McGonagall nod at his wisdom. "As for you, Professor Snape… You claim to be on the side of the light, but I don't see much of that at all. Draco Malfoy is your godson, and you both went to Death Eater gatherings over the summer – don't ask how I know. Now, I will be facing Voldemort this year as I seem to do most end of years… You are the only person that I know the Voldemort trusts after Bellatrix, so I would like you to tell me information that can help prevent as many deaths as possible" Snape was thoughtful for a while which Harry took as a good sign.

"And what is in it for me?" he asked at last.

"You find out something of great value in the next two months, and we'll have an accident where your report gets lost" Harry said straight faced. "I don't expect you to do it for me, but if you loved my mother as much as you claim, then you would do it to keep her son safe. Now as for your lessons, I will leave the teaching side of things to you. I do ask that you not give the first years an evening detention for at least two months. Keep them in during a break by all means, if you give them a detention quickly, then you will cause them to not try their hardest. I will not check up on you unless either myself or Professor McGonagall have concerns brought to us" Harry decided to dangle a carrot in front of the man. "If you want that warning taken off in two days time, then this is what you have to do…"

#

"Report, Severus. What news do you bring me?" Voldemort said.

"Harry Potter has been made Headmaster due to some old magic in the school" Snape looked at his lord and master. "He has offered me a deal where I report everything you say to him. I felt I should bring you this news, My Lord" Snape bowed his head.

"You have done well, my loyal and faithful follower" Voldemort said. "Perhaps this will be of use to me. Go and enjoy some wine while I think about how to act" and Snape bowed again and then left Voldemort's throne room. He found his godson's father and told him what had happened at the school.

"I shall arrange for the rest of the board to order his removal from the office, and suggest that you get place instead" Lucius Malfoy said.

"Why thank you" Snape replied. "Our Lord has commanded that I take some wine while he decides on what to do" and the elder Malfoy nodded.

"The come with, my slippery friend, and we shall drink wine and eat cheese whilst we discuss what to tell my son" and the two friends went off to the library after giving orders to a house elf.


	4. Developing Development

**Developing Development  
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Harry awoke the next morning and found himself in a bedroom that was not his familiar dorm, and he looked around to see that he had ended up in the Headteacher's suite. A look in the wardrobes and drawers revealed all of his things had been put away – presumably by one or more of the house elves that served the school. After having a long shower, Harry dressed in black trousers, a white shirt and wore some black shoes Hermione had assured him looked good with his new clothing. His plan was to go with Hermione to London during the lunch break and find out why his parents' will had not been read out. As he headed down for breakfast, he got a lot of looks from people expecting him to wear robes instead of muggle clothing.

"I think I shall write to my father" said Malfoy as he stood at the top of some steps leading to the lower parts of the castle. He was looking at Harry walking along and talking to Luna who had been looking for her clothing already this year.

"You won't" Harry said, slowing his pace down a little.

"I will, Potter. My father and the governors will have you for wearing mudblood clothing" Malfoy sneered.

"Oh dear, Mr Malfoy" Harry shook his head as he and Luna paused. "Threatening a member of staff… that's a detention for you tonight" he winked at Luna who smiled slightly. "Now I suggest that you go and have breakfast before you do anything else you regret" and Harry, Luna and a couple of students burst into laughter as Malfoy raced away.

"You'll regret this, potter" he said.

"And that is 20 points for running in the corridors" Harry shouted after the retreating back.

#

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" screamed Hermione. Harry raised an eyebrow and motioned for McGonagall to come over from the staff table.

"This is unlike her" McGonagall said. As soon as Harry had stepped away from her, Hermione had returned to a calm manner and was quite pleasant to talk to.

"She was alright last night" Harry said. "Could Ron have done something to her?" he asked.

"I spoke to Mr Longbottom last night, and he assures me that Mr Weasley did not have his wand out" the deputy said. "Why do you suggest him?" she asked.

"Just a hunch" Harry said, "But then again maybe I am being a little too quick here. We both know that Ron is a little lacking in the manners department at times, so we'll let this go… for now…" but he remembered the looks he was getting from Ginny and Ron at the Will reading, plus the looks he had gotten from Ron on the train ride up from London. "I am going down to London to speak to the Goblins" Harry said. "It seems that my parents made a will that was not read out" and Harry noticed McGonagall's reaction. "You knew of a will?" he asked.

"I never knew for certain" McGonagall replied. "I had been told by both of your parents that they were making one, but Albus said it had been destroyed when You-Know-Who killed them and the house exploded. I always suspected a will might have existed someplace, but I was never able to prove it. I am sure that if one does exist, then the Goblins will be able to find it for you" she was silent for a while and then told Harry she would have Neville watch for anything odd concerning Hermione.

"I'll be going now then" Harry said. As Hermione didn't want to be around him for some reason, he reasoned that he might as well just go down to London now.

#

"Mr Potter" Ripjaw greeted him. "It is nice to see you so soon again. What can I do for you today?" he asked.

"I'd like my parents' will read please. I was informed by a friend of the family that they made one, but I did not know of its existence. I would like it found today please" Harry said.

"I do not know of such a will having been made, but I will have my assistants go over every file I can think of and search for it" Ripjaw said, and the door to the office opened and Griphook came in.

"Pardon for the intrusion, sir" he said to Ripjaw, "But I have found out ther… this is lucky" he said after breaking his sentence.

"What is?" Ripjaw asked.

"I had just discovered that the will of Sirius Black contained a sheet of parchment that was to be opened only after the will had been read. It seems that in the signing of the paperwork it was forgotten about" Griphook said. "I have it in my office at the moment" he added.

"Very well" Ripjaw looked at Harry. "Perhaps you would care to go with Griphook and sign this overlooked bit of paperwork? I will have my assistants search for the will" and Griphook led Harry down the hall.

"What the hell…?" Harry was stunned as Griphook put up a number of privacy wards around the doorway.

"Please take a seat, Mr Potter" he said. "Mr Potter, what I am about to tell you goes against everything I know about the Gringotts code of conduct, and I could lose my position here at the bank. Albus Dumbledore has been taking money out of your account and spending it on himself and giving it to a family called the Dursleys. He has been taking this out of the Potter family vaults, and there has been nobody to stop him from doing so. After you vanished from our world, Dumbledore came to us with a document that proclaimed he was your magical guardian and protector. We believed him then, and most of the bank still do so" Griphook said, sipping at some water.

"But you don't" Harry said, and Griphook nodded.

"The first family account that I ever handled was the one for your parents. Every transaction they made or document that had to be signed was sent to my desk" the Goblin continued his story. "Several weeks before they were murdered, I was sent a copy of their will to place in their vault for safe keeping. As it was a rather thick folder, and being rather young and curious then, I opened it and read through it to see if anything was amiss. At no point was it said that Dumbledore was to be your protector, and that you were not to be sent to live with the Dursley family. Last night we were contacted by Albus Dumbledore and I was ordered to find all copies of the will and destroy them. He might be trying to lodge a false will with certain members of the bank and regain control of the Potter vaults and properties. That would also allow him to overrule your emancipation… I managed to save one copy from our magical burner" and Griphook removed a folder from his desk drawer and handed it over to Harry. "As I said to you before, I was treated with dignity and respect by your parents, and I hope this goes some way to paying them back for their kindness. Please do not tell anybody except who you must about this. If Dumbledore finds out what I have done here today, then he can have my superiors demote me to the lowest position in the bank, and cast my family out from our caves" and Harry looked up from the folder.

"You have a family?" he asked.

"I do indeed" Griphook said, tapping a long finger at a photo frame with a female Goblin and two out of focus young Goblins running around in the background. "My wife, Blaze, and my two daughters, Charity and Bubbles… please don't ask about that" Griphook said as he saw Harry's expression. "The female mind is something that frightens even Lord Voldemort I fear" and Harry promised that he would tell only those people that needed to be told.

#

As Harry was taking lunch in a café on Diagon Alley, he heard footsteps running towards him from behind. He turned to see Dean Thomas skidding to a halt before he crashed into Harry's table.

"Hermione's in the hospital wing" he panted. Harry pulled him a chair before ordering a glass of pumpkin juice for the boy.

"Tell me what happened" Harry ordered.

"Hermione took the first years to lunch in the great hall after going round some of the classrooms" Dean gulped down the juice. "Ron came up to her and gave her a goblet of something or other. He said it was to apologise for the way he acted last night. A while later Hermione started to shake and she made it as far as the doors before collapsing. After we got her to the hospital wing, I went to our dorm and found Ginny Weasley on your bed naked and… um… well she was doing things to herself" and Dean noted Harry's dark mood. "I know I am not the brightest in our year like Hermione, but I put two and two together and came up with four. I stunned her and then got Lavender to fetch her some clothing whilst I got McGonagall. Ginny is in the bed next to Hermione at the moment, and Pomfrey thinks they will both be fine after a while" and he stood as Harry wolfed down the last of his and slammed some coins on the table.

"Where is Ron?" he asked as they headed for the public floo network.

"Nobody has seen him after he spoke to Hermione. He wasn't in our dorm when I went in it, and Seamus has tried the Room of Requirements" Dean told him.

"Has a search been organised?" Harry pressed.

"McGonagall has all of the ghosts looking over the entire castle, and all the other prefects are looking too – minus Hermione of course. I think she is waiting for you before they look inside his trunk" Dean said, and they reached the floo and travelled back to Hogwarts.

# # # # #

"Report!" Harry said as he tumbled out of the floo.

"Miss Granger and Miss Weasley are under sedation in the hospital wing" McGonagall told him. "Madam Pomfrey is trying to identify a substance found whilst scanning them" she added.

"What about the goblet that Hermione drank from?" Harry asked as Dean tumbled out of the floo.

"Severus is working with Poppy to discover what it is, but it may take some time to do so. I have the ghosts and the other prefects searching for Mr Weasley as we speak, but he seems to have vanished from the school. He did not take any of the broomsticks with him, and the wards did not detect him leaving the grounds at all. He may have done some charm to confuse them, but this _is_ Ron Weasley we are talking about" McGonagall said.

"Seal off the school" Harry said. "Place a prefect at every point he could escape through, and get some Aurors here now. If he has done permanent damage to Ginny and Hermione, then I am going to have HIS FUCKING BALLS FOR THIS!" Harry punched the table in the Headmaster's office so hard it snapped clean in two.

"Where will you be?" asked Sprout. She had helped to get Hermione to the hospital wing after the girl had sunk to the floor.

"I'm going to look through his trunk" Harry said, forcing himself to be calm. "Ron is a hoarder, and I doubt that he will have thrown away any evidence we need. I hope that we will get some kind of a clue" he added. Dean went with him to the Gryffindor common room to find that Seamus, Lavender and Parvati had forced open the lock to Ron's trunk and had started looking through everything.

#

"We never found anything" Harry said that evening. Not a single trace could be found of Ron, and the Aurors had found no trace of his magical signature, though it was possible it was drowned out by all the others in the castle. Harry had ordered the castle grounds bared to all but the Aurors so there was no chance he could escape via a gate.

"Mr Weasley seems to have gone down a rabbit hole" Professor Flitwick said.

"Certainly a secret he is keeping very well" Sprout said. "I am growing medicinal plants as quickly as I can, but unless we found out what potion was used…" Harry's look stopped her dead in her tracks.

"I have so far been unable to discover the substance" Snape said. "Only the smallest amount was left on the goblet, and that is barely enough for my needs. I am boiling the remains in order to separate most parts which will allow me to figure out what it is" he explained.

"How are Hermione and Ginny?" Harry asked.

"So far they have remained stable since their last batch of spasms, but this may change at any moment" Pomfrey said. Harry said she could go because he wanted the very best care for them. "Shall I be moving them to St Mungo's?" asked the witch.

"I said the best, Madam Pomfrey, so they are staying here" Harry rewarded the school nurse with a smile that the castle used to top up the wards.

"I do not understand where Mr Weasley can be" said McGonagall. "We have searched every room, chamber and hall we have – bar the hospital wing of course" she added. "He could have got through the wards, but it… Mr Potter?" Harry had picked up his wand and was heading out of the room without speaking a word. The staff followed him as he stormed down the corridors and entered the girls bathroom on the second floor.

"Myrtle, if you are here then please show yourself" Harry said.

"What do you want?" the ghost asked as she drifted out of her favourite cubicle.

"I need help, and you are the only person that can help me" Harry told Myrtle that both Hermione and Ginny were very ill and could die if she did not answer some questions.

"What do you want to know?" asked the ghost, moving so it looked as if she was leaning on a sink.

"Do you remember my second year? We made Polyjuice Potion in here. Do you remember the red haired boy that was with me and Hermione?" Harry said.

"Yes"

"Have you seen him recently?" Harry spoke kindly. "He has done something, and we need to find him to find out what he has done" he added.

"I saw him this afternoon" Myrtle said. "He didn't stop to say hello, but he went down through that sink that opens up" and Harry looked at the sink that had a snake on the tap handles.

"What did he have with him?" he asked.

"His wand and a lot of notes" the ghost said. "He had some food from the kitchens as well" and Harry thanked the ghost.

"If he is still down there, then I will personally buy and fit you a solid gold toilet all of your own" he said, and dark silver spots appeared on the face of the ghostly girl. Harry now knew it was possible for a ghost to blush.

"I hope you find him" she said, and then floated back into her preferred cubicle.

"May I ask where you going?" McGonagall asked as she entered the toilet with other members of staff.

"One place that a ghost wouldn't enter is the chamber of secrets" Harry told her. "Ron could wait there for us to scale back our search efforts, then return and say he was under a spell or something. I want a squad of Aurors here as quickly as possible" and Flitwick sped off to get some.

"This is against tradition" said Sprout. "Aurors are not normally called inside Hogwarts to find a pupil. We never called them in for the hunt for Sirius Black" she added.

"I am not Albus Dumbledore" Harry reminded her. "And as of his attack on Hermione, Ron Weasley became a suspect in a criminal investigation. Dumbledore was too soft when it things like this. A week of detention and house points taken is what he would have got right?" and Sprout nodded.

"I understand that you want us" said an Auror. She put down Flitwick from having carried the tiny wizard with the squad of Aurors.

"I have been told by one of the school ghosts that Ron is in the chamber of secrets" Harry said. "I am going down there to confront him, and I want you to be there and arrest him" and he opened the sink up and revealed a tunnel going downwards. A quick spell later, and the tunnel changed into a set of metal stairs.

"Lead the way" the lead Auror said, and she and the squad followed Harry down the stairs. McGonagall followed as well after telling the others to find out the latest on the two critically ill patients.

#

"Is that you, Professor?" Ron called out as the door to the chamber itself opened and allowed the group to enter.

"It is I" Harry replied. "What have you done to Hermione you bastard?" he demanded. As he and the group walked towards Ron, Harry's wand kept a direct line on the other boy.

"Just claiming what is mine" Ron replied. "I just gave her a little something to help her remember it" and went for his wand. Harry was quicker to fire off a spell and disarmed Ron. His wand spun into the air before an Auror summoned it over to his waiting hand. Harry snatched it and snapped it over his knee – throwing the pieces to the floor and grinding them under his heel.

"DO YOU REALISE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE? HERMIONE AND GINNY ARE SERIOUSLY ILL BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU COULDN'T EVEN MAKE A POTION COULD YOU?" Harry blasted him off his feet and into a stone pillar. "TELL ME WHAT IT WAS OR THE AURORS WILL BE TAKING WHAT IS LEFT OF YOU AWAY IN A MATCHBOX!" Harry yelled, blasting Ron off his feet after the boy had stood up.

"I was promised her" Ron coughed blood up.

"By who?" Harry's wand was pointing directly between Ron's eyes.

"I aint saying" Ron said.

"Ronald Billius Weasley, you are hereby expelled from Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the assault, poisoning and mind altering of Hermione Granger and of your sister" Harry glanced at the Aurors. "Take him away and find out what was in that potion before it i…" a shout cut him off.

"I'LL NEVER TELL!" Ron pulled out a wand from his back pocket and cast the killing curse. "_Avada Kedavra_" and the spell shot out from the wand towards Harry. Time slowed down as Harry brought his wand up to cast as powerful a shield charm as he had ever made. He had almost finished the incantation when he saw it was too late. Before the spell hit, he was pushed aside and a red robed figure took the hit and crumpled to the floor.

"JAMIE" another Auror shouted with a mixture of horror and pain. "You bastard" and the Auror shrugged off his fellows and charged Ron. He pounded him with fists that seemed like a blur. He had to be dragged by his squad off Ron, and he slowly crawled on the floor to the body of his partner. Harry moved to stand over the battered and bloodied Ron and dived into his mind with very little effort needed. He tore through Ron's mind and found the memory he needed of making the potion over the summer holiday.

"Aurors, take him away" he said. "Professor, we need to get to the Hospital Wing" and the pair of them left at a run.

#

Snape was brewing a counter potion as Harry sat with McGonagall in her office drinking a 110 year old single malt whiskey. He knew that Ron could do rash things, but never thought that he would stoop so low as to poison his own sister and one of his friends. Harry was sure that Dumbledore had him do it, but he had no firm evidence to back it up with. Mr and Mrs Weasley had been told of Ron's expulsion and his arrest by the Aurors, and Mrs Weasley kept mentioning it was all a mistake and Hermione was just confused as she had spent time with Harry that summer.

"Headmaster?" Nearly Headless Nick floated through the wall.

"Hi, Nick. What do you want?" Harry greeted the ghost.

"You should know that the potion has been finished and is on its way to the hospital wing" the ghost said.

"Good" and Harry drained the last of his glass and headed down the corridors and the passages until he arrived at the Hospital Wing. Pomfrey was just taking a vial from Hermione's blueish lips and waved her wand several times. A piece of parchment flew out and she read it before noticing Harry standing next to her.

"It seems as if the antidote to the poison is working, but something might still happen all the same. If that is the case, then I shall have Severus make more as needed" she said to him.

"What could happen?" Harry asked, looking between the forms of Hermione and Ginny. Whilst looking through Ron's mind, he had discovered that he had given her a dose of the same potion and then cast a controlling spells on her so she thought Harry was going to have sex with her. That was why she was how she was when Dean found her in the dorm.

"If there was not enough, then they will start to slide back into a worse condition" Pomfrey said.

"Is there anything that we can do?" Harry asked.

"Nothing" came the reply. "I suggest that you get some rest. You will not be doing yourself any favours by staying here all night" Pomfrey said.

"Will you be staying?" Harry asked him.

"I have to" came the reply.

"Then so do I" Harry said, and no amount of talking could help Pomfrey convince him otherwise. "How long until they wake up?" he asked.

"That depends" he was told. "The potion was a botched one, and it affected the brains of both Miss Granger and Miss Weasley. They could wake in minutes or in hours" she glanced down at the sleeping girls. "Lets at least go to my office…" and the pair of them went and had a cup of tea delivered by a house elf.

#

"Harry wake up!" Neville was shaking him awake by the shoulders.

"Whats goi… HERMIONE?" Harry bolted upright.

"Still sleeping" Neville assured him. "There are two Aurors outside wanting to arrest you" he said.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, sipping from the offered tea pressed into his hands.

"Seems the Weasleys have asked for your arrest because of what happened with Ron" Dean said. He and Neville had been given the password to the Headmaster's office and private rooms by McGonagall. She had also made Dean the other Gryffindor prefect while Hermione was still getting over the effects of the contaminated potion.

"Send them in" Harry said, and performed a quick cleaning charm on himself. "And then tell McGonagall I want all prefects standing outside the door. I'm fed up of doing things by the rules… lets just make things as we go along" he added.

"Aye, Aye, Cap'n Harry" Dean mock saluted him and walked out with Neville.

"Good Morning, Gentlemen" Harry said politely. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Harry James Potter, you are under arrest for the unprovoked assault of Ronald Weasley, and the unlawful kidnapping of Ginerva Weasley" said a stocky woman. She made Pansy Parkinson look like a swimsuit model.

"He was resisting arrest" Harry said. "He also pulled two wands on us and I take steps to remove that threat as I deemed necessary as Headmaster of this school" he said calmly.

"You attacked a minor, and you are under arrest for that assault and the kidnapping of Ginny Weasley" said the other Auror. "Hand over your wand and hold out your hands for magical cuffs" he added.

"I am sure that the Weasleys will be lenient on you" said the ugly one. Harry was wondering if she was related to Umbridge in some way.

"Are you aware that you need the Headmaster's permission to enter Hogwarts?" Harry asked them. He had read Hermione's copy of _Hogwarts – A History_ to help pass the time while he sat between her and Ginny during the night. "As you have not, then I am going to have to ask you both to leave" Harry put his feet up on the desk. This upset the Aurors who withdrew their wands and had them by their sides.

"Come with us now, or we are allowed to use force" the second Auror said.

"I don't think so" Harry said to them.

"Have it your way" the ugly one told Harry, and she brought her wand up, and Harry whistled loudly and the prefects and McGonagall came bursting in.

"These two thought they would arrive on the grounds of the school, barge up to my office and demand I turn myself over to them for arrest" Harry said.

"What do you want me to do with them?" asked McGonagall.

"Disarm the pair of them, and take them to an unused classroom. I want the prefects inside and out to guard them until I can be bothered to call the DMLE to have somebody pop round and collect them" Harry made it sound like a newspaper delivery.

"Very well" and the Deputy calmly took the wands off the Aurors. "Take them to the smaller transfiguration class room please and guard them" and they left. As they went out the door, one of the Aurors tripped and tore a copy of the rules for the treatment of prisoners – a keepsake Dumbledore had copied from the library.

"Oh good" said Daphne Greengrass, "You just destroyed the rule about cruel treatment of prisoners…" and the door closed.

"_Oh I just can't wait to be king…_" Harry sang as he finished his tea.

"That is not a quote from Merlin's teachings that I am familiar with" McGonagall said.

"It's from an earlier time. Quoted by Prince Simba. Professor, I think we'll keep them there for an hour before calling the DMLE and asking if they want their idiots back. If I am needed, then you know where to find me" and the woman nodded.

#

"What are you doing?" Myrtle asked Harry. He was making measurements of her favourite cubicle and noting them down.

"Wanted some figures for the toilet I am having made for you" Harry said, and the ghost squealed with happiness and tried to hug him, only to have her arms go through his body.

"It should be ready by the end of the week" Harry told her.

"Thank you" Myrtle said

#

"There has still been no change" Mr Potter" said Pomfrey. "They are doing well, but at a slow rate"

"This is a good thing?" Harry asked.

"They have not slipped back to a worse condition" Pomfrey said. "I hear there was some trouble this morning" she added. Harry had waited an hour before calling the Ministry, and asking if somebody wouldn't mind coming round and picking up the two Aurors from him.

"_May we please have my Aurors back?"_ Madam Bones had asked.

"The Weasleys think I have assaulted Ron and kidnapped and messed with Ginny" Harry replied. "I have a lesson in about half an hour" he said, looking at his watch. "If anything happens, can you get a message to me please?" and the school nurse nodded.

"You'll be the first to know" she assured him.

#

"I hope Hermione and Ginny get better soon" Luna said. "I don't believe that Ronald could do such a thing like that… And I believe what Neville and the others told me" she added.

"What I don't understand is how did Ron manage to create a potion that would affect them both" Lavender said.

"Could he have got it from a shop?" asked Seamus.

"Love Potions are very controlled" Parvati said. "The only reason why Fred and George Weasley can sell it is because it wears off in five minu…"

"What?" asked the others at the same time.

"What if he stole a couple of bottles of Love Potion and then tried to make them stronger by mixing them together with other ingredients?" asked the Indian girl. "Hermione would just have been affected by it, and that is why she just went down. Ginny has always had a crush on you, and that explains why she was fingering herself on your bed, Harry" and it made sense enough.

"But Ron would not do that on his own, and I hardly think that Dumbledore would tell him to do it" he said. With the non-availability of Hermione, he had been forced to take the others into some of his information. "Have you noticed that whenever Mr Weasley tries to speak, his wife talks over him or tells him to be silent?" Harry said after a while.

"Some people are like that" Parvati said.

"When I called the Burrow to let them know Ron was expelled, Mr Weasley looked as if he wanted to say something to me" Harry said to her.

"Maybe he wanted to apologise" Seamus suggested.

"Perhaps…" it was clear Harry was not convinced by that at all. "Shall we go and see Hermione?" he asked.

"Its past curfew" Lavender pointed out.

"Since when has that ever stopped Harry?" Neville laughed.

"Come on…" Harry said, "I think the Headmaster will allow you to be out tonight" and the group went down to the hospital wing to see Hermione and Ginny.

#

"Griphook, you have been found guilty of breaching the code of conduct at Gringotts Bank" said the head of the bank. "Given your many years of service to us, and your otherwise spotless record, it is the judgement of this tribunal that you are demoted to Junior Assistant and fined the total sum of 180,000 Galleons" he motioned to the guards. "Escort Junior Griphook to his new position" and once the shell shocked Goblin had been dragged bodily from the chamber, the sole human stood up and bowed.

"Thank you for your help" Dumbledore said. "I shall have those requests passed at the next meeting of the Wizendgamot" and all of the Goblins present smiled an evil smile.


	5. Gobbling Up The Goblins

**Gobbling Up The Goblins  
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_Dear Mr Potter_

_Despite an extensive search of the records department, we have been unable to find a will for Lily and James Potter. We also searched the Potter family vaults, and found nothing there._

_Signed_

_Ripjaw_

"Oh yes there is" Harry said to himself. He was beginning to suspect that the Goblins were in league with Dumbledore. He had never fully trusted the man since learning about Sirius. If he knew about Sirius being innocent all of those years, then why did he never do anything about it? Dumbledore was perfectly content to let an innocent person go to jail then be the champion for truth and justice he was supposed to be. Harry also suspected that Dumbledore would have him thrown in jail for defeating Voldemort on the simple fact that he had to kill the Dark Lord.

"Mr Potter?" McGonagall's voice brought him round from his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"I thought you should know that Miss Granger and Miss Weasley have awoken" she said, then stepped out of the way as Harry screamed past her and down the corridor from his office.

#

"I was so worried about you" Harry said, holding Hermione's hands in his own.

"I just can't believe that Ron would do something like that. I know he acts and speaks rashly at times, but I wouldn't have thought him that evil" Hermione said. Harry had told her and Ginny what had affected them, and that Ginny's lingering crush on Harry had caused her to do what she did as she waited for Harry to get back.

"I hope you have placed him in detention until the age of 160" the red head said, then saw the look Harry had on his face. "What?" she asked him.

"We cornered Ron down in the chamber of secrets" Harry said. "I expelled him and snapped his wand and smashed the pieces. Before the Aurors could take him away, he took out a second wand and cast the killing curse out me" and Ginny frowned in confusion.

"But he must have failed somehow because you are alive. Did you duck or something?" she asked.

"One of the Aurors pushed me aside and took the curse in my place" Harry said. "Ron is being held in the Ministry awaiting trial for killing an Auror as well as what he did to you and Hermione" and Ginny went pale and tears started to run down her face.

"No, no, no, no, no, no…" she sobbed. "How could he do that?" the girl cried out.

"He wanted me dead because I love Hermione, and he just became so jealous with me" Harry said to her, stroking her head as she sobbed into his chest.

"I think she needs a calming draught and a dreamless sleep potion" Hermione to Pomfrey.

"I figured as much" the nurse said, and handed over two vials that Ginny drank from. The troubled girl was soon fast asleep and back in her hospital bed. Hermione was checked by Pomfrey and found to be in a perfect state of health, and no trace of the poisoned love potion could be detected in her body. She was allowed out on the proviso she had a day of bed rest, and the nurse added it did not mean Hermione could place a bed in the library either.

"Just come back if something happens" Harry and Hermione parroted before Pomfrey could say anything else.

#

"Harry?" Hermione was curled up next to Harry in the common room of Gryffindor tower.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"How did you really get the information from Ron?" Hermione asked.

"I blasted him off his feet a couple of times, and then I went right into his mind and took the information from him. I know I shouldn't have done that, but I was just so mad that he had harmed you… you are more precious to me then any broomstick" Harry said to her. "I would have given away every single item in my vault away if it would have got a cure for you" he added, and Hermione looked into his shining green eyes and saw he meant every word of it.

"Thank you" she whispered, and kissed him on the lips. A number of people cheered and cat called the pair.

"Don't make me give you all a detention" Harry said jokingly.

"I can't wait to start lessons" Hermione said. "I wonder if this year will be quieter for you rather than the last few ones" she said.

"I hope so, Hermione… I hope so…" her boyfriend replied. A while later and they headed off to bed and much needed and deserved sleep.

#

A number of weeks passed, and nothing happened to Harry or Hermione, and Harry was able to attend a Halloween feast in peace for a change. The only slight downer that had happened was finding out that Ron had been released to house arrest by order of the Chief Warlock pending a trial, and this furthered the belief that Dumbledore was behind the attack on Hermione. There had been no time for Ron to mix and brew the potion after he got to Hogwarts, so he had to have made it at the Burrow after the will reading. The Weasleys had not pulled Ginny from Hogwarts for some reason, and it was presumed it was because she was sitting her OWLs that year and a change would disrupt her chances of good grades. Quidditch practices took a lot of his spare time, but Harry always made time for his friends. The first game, against a strong Hufflepuff side, had ended in victory for the Gryffindor side. At one point, one of the chasers on the Hufflepuff team had been unseated from their broom, and Harry had broken off his chase of the snitch to pluck the unlucky from the air, and brought her safely to the ground. The other seeker had seen Harry on his rescue attempt and had also stopped going after the snitch. He later said that it would not have been fair if his house had won when Harry had been saving someone from great injury.

"I would like to see my account manager please" Harry said.

"Certainly" said the Goblin. "If you would wait here one moment…" and he walked off to the many offices behind the front of the bank. Harry and Hermione had come to Gringotts to get some money to go shopping around Diagon Alley as well as a number of muggle shops. His trusty Owl, Hedwig, was having a break at an Owl Holiday and Spa place that Luna had recommended on the coast of Cornwall. Somehow, and he was not sure how, he had got a postcard from the bird that morning.

_Dear Harry,_

_I am having a great time being pampered and having my aching wings massaged._

_Met a nice male Owl named Blaze. We've got talking and we have swapped perch locations – hope you do not mind._

_Wishing you were here…_

_Hedwig_

"Mr Potter?" a Goblin spoke.

"Yes?" he replied.

"I understand that you wish to go over your accounts and withdraw some money" the Goblin said.

"That's right" Harry looked around the atrium of the bank. "Although the Goblin I deal with is Griphook" he added.

"Griphook is… not dealing with your account at the present time" the Goblin said. "I am Fangtooth" he added.

"Is something wrong with Griphook?" Hermione asked. "I do hope he isn't ill or anything" she said.

"Griphook was demoted because of his breaching of the Gringotts code of conduct" Fangtooth said.

"I never had any trouble with him" Harry said.

"Please step this way" Harry noticed that Fangtooth had ignored what Harry had said. He and Hermione went into a small meeting room where he was asked what he wanted that day.

"Can we see Harry's accounts please?" Hermione asked politely.

"No" Fangtooth said.

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"Only a member of the Potter family may look at them" the Goblin said.

"I have no secrets from Hermione" Harry told him.

"She is not permitted to see them" the Goblin was sticking firm to his ground.

"Well, Harry" Hermione said casually, "Perhaps we should see if the Gnomes want our business" and an orchestra of alarms went off in Fangtooth's mind. He knew that the loss of the Potter accounts and business would be a major blow to the bank, and the head of the bank would have his guts for garters – quite literary!

"Perhaps something could be arranged" he said quickly. He fled out of the door and came back several minutes with some ledgers. The two teens had already decided to make him sweat and so hummed and tutted at random moments as if they were no t happy with things.

"I would like to withdraw about…" Harry looked at Hermione.

"I think it was about two" she told him.

"Two thousand please, and half to be converted to muggle currency" Harry said to Fangtooth.

"Is there anything else I can do for you whilst I get your money?" the Goblin asked.

"I'd like to see Griphook please" Harry said.

"That is not possible" Harry was informed.

"Wonder what the skiing is like this time of year…" mused Hermione in a thoughtful manner. Fangtooth went pale and hurried out to get Harry the money he wanted.

"How did you get to be so Slytherin like?" Harry asked her.

"Spend enough time near Malfoy to pick up stuff don't I?" Hermione smiled, and kissed Harry on the lips.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" Harry asked her. Hermione was about to answer when a loud yell of pain ran though the office and the corridor outside. They rushed to the door, but found the Goblins walking around and ignoring the agonising screams of pain. They followed the sounds and came to a door that was firmly locked and marked 'GOBLINS ONLY'

"_Alohamora_" the lock clicked softly, and Hermione opened the door and headed in with Harry following with his wand also out.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Harry roared. They stood in a stone chamber with doors on the far side – some had bars on roughly cut holes. Griphook was tied to a stake in the middle of the room, and blood poured from deep cuts in his body and he had several sharp knives imbedded in his stomach. His hands had been pinned with daggers pushed through them. Both humans were strongly reminded of Nazi concentration camps at Griphook's condition. A number of Goblins stood with more weapons in their hands, and the one that seemed to be in charge faced the pair.

"You should not be here, humans" he growled. "You have broken into private parts of the bank"

"What are you doing to Griphook?" Hermione demanded.

"He is being punished for his actions" the Goblin replied. "As you will be…" and motioned for two others to move forwards. They stopped when both wands came up, and a stand off ensued. "You will both be fined heavily for invading these parts. Griphook and his family are to be executed for Griphook's failure to obey the rules" the senior Goblin said.

"Isn't going to happen" Harry said.

"You have no choice but to allow it" another Goblin. "It is only because you're not aware of our laws that you are not dead like Griphook and his family shall be soon" he added.

"Still ain't going to happen" Hermione said. "What you are doing is wrong" she told them.

"Says you" the Goblin replied. "We are permitted to do this according to our laws, and not your weak and pathetic human laws and rules" it added.

"Leave now" the senior Goblin said. "Because of what you have done in defeating the Dark Lord a number of times, plus your ignorance of magical law, not of your making, we will allow you to leave this building alive. Your account vaults shall be drained to compensate for this breach before we resume our punishment so all will fear breaking the rules" it added.

"Not on my watch" Harry said. "Mione, check to see if Griphook is still alive. I'll cover you" and Hermione nodded as she crossed over and checked the tied up Goblin.

"I don't know how the hell this is, but there is a weak but steady pulse" she said, then untied him and placed him on the ground.

"Where is Griphook's family?" Harry asked the other Goblins.

"Awaiting their punishment" said a third Goblin warrior.

"Yes, I quite know that by now" Harry's wand was still pointing at the largest group of Goblins. "Which room are they in?" he demanded, and vaporised a part of the wall in front of him.

"That one" said the senior, pointing to the smallest room that reminded Harry of the tiny door from Alice in Wonderland.

"Open it up and let them out" he ordered.

"Do it yourself" the senior Goblin said.

"Mione?" and Hermione went over to the door and opened it up.

"Oh my god…" she said. Packed into the tiny space were an adult female Goblin and two younger ones that were Griphook's daughters. All three of them had injuries ranging from bruises to broken limbs.

"Can they stand?" Harry asked her.

"His wife can, but the feet and legs of both the girls have been broken and not fixed" Hermione growled and radiated an anger that Harry knew well. Harry moved round the outer edge of the chamber and made sure that none of the Goblins had chance to try an attack on the humans.

"Put them around me" he said to Hermione. His girlfriend knew what he meant, and put each young Goblin on Harry with their arms around his neck – and applied a sticking charm so they didn't fall off. "Get Griphook" he ordered. "They are coming with us" and after scooping up the gravely wounded Griphook, the two humans carried the four Goblins to the door and out into the corridor. They walked slowly up it and encountered Fangtooth coming back with their money.

"What is going on here?" he asked, echoing Harry's own words.

"We found out what you meant by Griphook was being punished" Hermione said. She took the two leather pouches from his hand and put them in her pocket.

"Fangtooth, listen to me very carefully" Harry whispered something into his ear which made his eyes widen in surprise.

"I will try" he promised.

"Then do it" Harry commanded, and then continued making his way out of the bank after getting the ledgers from the open office he and Hermione had been in.

#

"Where do we go?" asked Hermione as they stood in the street outside the bank. They were safe from attack by the Goblins as they only had dominion over the bank building and nothing else.

"Back to Hogwarts" Harry said. "Our shopping trip will have to wait" and they headed to the _Leaky Cauldron_ as fast but comfortably as they could for the injured Goblins. They used the floo to return to the Headmaster's office of the castle.

"Quick" Hermione said. She was putting Griphook on the desk and cast a few charms which didn't seem to work. "I think his heart has stopped" she said to Harry. He unstuck the two girls and placed them on the floor and out of the way. He activated the same charm that he had used to summon the staff on his first night as Headmaster.

"NOW HEAR THIS! NOW HEAR THIS! MEDICAL EMERGENCY! MADAM POMFREY TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE ON THE DOUBLE! MEDICAL EMERGENCY! MADAM POMFREY TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE ON THE DOUBLE" Harry shouted.

"He's gone into some kind of damned arrest" Hermione said, and started doing CPR on the non breathing Goblin. When she slipped, Harry slide into her place and took over from where she had left off.

"… 14… 15" he counted. "Come on, Griphook! Don't let the bastards win" and the office door opened and Pomfrey came running in and skidded to a halt when she saw four Goblins littering the room.

"Griphook needs you more" Hermione said quickly.

"Got a heartbeat" Harry interrupted his girlfriend. "Its slow, but its steady…"

"I can detect many poisons used by the Goblins on the tips of the blades" Pomfrey said. "Had you not you not restarted his heart, then I am afraid he would not be alive" she added as she worked her chosen craft on Griphook.

"Do what you can for him" Hermione said, and was surprised when Pomfrey shook her head.

"We are supposed to turn him over to the Goblins for treatment" the nurse said.

"That is not an option" Harry said. "We rescued Griphook and his family from nearly being killed" and Pomfrey summed up the situation with a little more information from the pair.

"I will do my best" she said. "Goblins have a great healing rate, but I think this has been affected by the amount and types of poison in his system" and a quick check of the other three showed indicated they did not have the poison in them – they just had broken limbs, cuts bruises and everything one would expect from a torture. "I will need to get them to the Hospital Wing quickly" and Harry had a solution to that.

"Dobby!" he called, and the elf popped out of the air.

"The great and wise Harry Potter has called?"

"Could you help Madam Pomfrey take the Goblins to the Hospital Wing?" Harry asked the elf.

"Only because you have asked" Dobby seemed worked up, and Harry asked Hermione about it after they were alone.

"Elves and Goblins have been bitter rivals for hundreds of years" she said. "Only because Dobby respects you so much did he do as you asked" and Harry shook his head.

"Another bias in the magical world I suppose…" he looked up. The pair was covered in dark red blood from the Goblin family. "We should get cleaned up" and Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"Is that an offer, Harry…?" her eyes flashed with amusement as Harry went a brilliant shade of red.

"Nnnnnnn no" he did a good impression of a stuttering Neville Longbottom. "I need to get a shower and sorted before calling a meeting of the staff" Harry said, and had Dobby take Hermione directly to the Gryffindor bathrooms.


	6. Fudging A Way Through

**Fudging A Way Through  
><strong>

"Your message said it was urgent business" McGonagall said.

"What I have to say to you is on a need to know basis" Harry said. "In this castle are four badly injured Goblins. I have been informed that the law is injured Goblins are stabilised, and then returned to their own kind. However, their own kind did this to them, and I saved them all from a most certain death. I want you to take Dobby and any two elves you think trustworthy and have rooms prepared in the quietest part of the castle. I know how elves and Goblins dislike each other, but just tell them it is an order from the Headmaster" he went on.

"You realise that you will have the Chief Warlock banging on your door and ordering their return" McGonagall said.

"Unless he has an appointment to see me, then he can go away and sulk for all I care" Harry told her. "Griphook has done me a valuable service, and I am in his debt because of it. He and his entire family are welcome to stay for as long as they wish. Now would you mind getting an appointment for me with the Minister. I'll see if I can _fudge_ my way through it" he winked as his head of house nodded and smiled before leaving to carry out her tasks.

#

"I was about to send for you, Mr Potter" Pomfrey said.

"How are they?" he asked.

"The children are under healing spells" the nurse replied, "As is their mother. I have given them what potions I could, and their bones should be knitted together by midnight. The poison was designed to eat away at the nerves of all four of them causing a great pain. However I also detected traces of an antidote inside them, and I believe that their torturers did it to make them suffer all the more" the witch shook her head in disgust.

"What about Griphook?" Harry enquired.

"He was in a much worse condition. His heart had stopped beating for a total of a minute and a half. The poisons in him were the same as those in his family, but there was also one that was slowly eating away at his internal organs. Another few minutes and it would have been too late to do anything for him. They should be awake in the morning, but I'd like to keep them in for a day or two afterwards for tests" Pomfrey said, and Harry nodded. He trusted the woman in all things medical, and she clearly had no issues with treating somebody not human.

"The elves should have their rooms sorted out by then" he said, then turned as McGonagall came into the Hospital Wing.

"The Minister says that his appointment list is full, but if you go right away, he can slide you in during lunch" she said, glancing at the Goblins.

"You deserve a pay rise" Harry beamed.

"Be the first in twenty years" the deputy muttered.

"Well then, we'll have to see what we can do about that then…" Harry assured her. "I am heading off to the Ministry. Hold the fort, Professor and live to tell the tale!" and with a cheeky grin at the deputy that made the witch think instantly of his father, Harry strode out and headed for the floo in the Headmaster's office.

#

"Good Afternoon, Mr Potter" Cornelius Fudge shook Harry's hand. Fudge's office contained a few pictures on the walls, a couple of filing cabinets, a sideboard with some decanters of various liquids, a coat stand which had his lime green coat and bowler hat hanging of it. Despite appearances, the walls were painted in a dark blue with a red stripe running around at about waist height. Harry found he rather liked it, and wondered if he could have the same done to his office at Hogwarts. "Please excuse the slight mess, but lunch was the only time I could fit you in" he added.

"Thank you for seeing me on short notice, Minister" Harry replied, sitting down in front of the desk.

"What, may I ask, is so important you had to see me quickly?" Fudge asked. He was being as charming as possible after surviving a confidence vote by a narrow margin.

"I have four Goblins at Hogwarts" Harry began, "And they were tortured almost to death because of the interference and wishes of Albus Dumbledore. Myself and another person rescued them from Gringotts and took them back for treatment. According to the law, I am supposed to turn them over back to Gringotts and allow them to be executed"

"So where do I come into this?" Fudge asked, taking a mouthful of grilled cheese and ham sandwich.

"I have discovered that the law is only assumed, and that it does not stand up in the statute books. The press are going to be causing all kinds of trouble over this, so I want you to announce that what happened was legal and no proceedings will take place against myself" Harry said.

"And what is in it for me?" Fudge asked. He could sense that Harry would give him something big in response.

"I believe you are up for re-election in a month's time" Harry said, and Fudge nodded slowly. "Do what I want, and I'll see my way to publicly supporting you during the election" and Fudge nearly fell out of his chair with surprise.

"Is this some kind of joke?" he gasped. The Minister could not believe that he was being given a lifeline by Harry Potter for his political life.

"I see something by the end of the week, then I'll support you in the election and appear at a few events with you" Harry told the man. He was beginning to enjoy this power he now had, and things were going differently then how Dumbledore would have done it.

"Is there anything else that I can do…?" whispered Fudge.

"Well, know that you mention it…" Harry said. "I don't suppose that you could arrest Dunderheaded Secretary Umbitch on charges of child abuse? I was under the impression that blood quills were illegal…" he said casually.

"Umbitch?" Fudge knew of no person named that in his department.

"Umbridge" Harry said.

"I will see what I can do" Fudge promised.

"Thank you, Minister. You really must come to Hogwarts to watch a quidditch match…" and Harry smiled and shook the hand of goldfish in the form of the Minister for Magic before leaving. Fudge was silent as he finished his lunch and thought about what had been said. Twenty minutes later, Fudge reached out and pressed a button on the box on his desk.

"Put me through to the DMLE please, Terri" he said to his secretary.

#

"… we should soon be in a position to..." whatever Umbridge was in a position to do would not be known as Madam Bones and three Aurors burst through her door and walked into her office. "How dare you come in like that!" she yelled.

"Told you we should have gone for the fireworks" one Auror spoke.

"Delores Jane Umbridge" Madam Bones started speaking, "You are under arrest for use of Blood Quills, child abuse using said instruments, theft and deception" and the toad like woman went red with rage.

"I am the Senior Undersecretary!" she fumed. "You can not arrest me! When the Minister hears about this, you will face the sack!" and the rear Auror shook his head and moved forwards.

"They will not face the sack, and you _can_ be arrested" and he took off the hood he wore to reveal Fudge. "_Surprise…!_"

"No…" Umbridge said. "I will see you pay for this!"

"Be silent, Umbitch" Fudge spoke over her. Bones and the two Aurors smiled at the new nickname for Miss Toad of the Year, 1991, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96. It was sure to get round the DMLE within minutes. Umbridge was taken away to the cells while a search was ordered of her office and home.

# # # # #

"You enjoyed that" Hermione said that evening.

"You're damned right I did" Harry grinned. "If I can get Fudge on my side, then Voldemort will not be able to get stuff done through Lucius Malfoy. All of this for a couple of good words and an appearance at an event or two… think that is a good day's work" he told her.

"What are you going to do about Gringotts?" asked his girlfriend.

"I was thinking that they could go to hell" Harry said simply. "My money is being placed under enchantments that will transport it all to Hogwarts should the vault be opened with the intention of taking it as fines. The case with Ron is coming up soon, and Mrs Weasley has invoked old family magic to forbid Ginny from giving evidence against her own brother. We will have to go and fight an old and respected family with just the evidence of Pomfrey, ourselves and what the Aurors saw. What he did to you is unforgivable, Mione, and thinking he could do it simply because he wanted you…" Harry shook his head.

"I feel sorry for Ginny" Hermione said. "When she goes home for the holiday, she is going to get it right in the ear. Mrs Weasley doesn't like to not be in control after all. Do you remember last summer? She was dictating what we did even though it was Sirius's house. What I would like to do is get Mr Weasley on his own for five minutes and see what he wants to say to us" she added.

"Perhaps we could get him up here to look at a muggle object" Harry said. "It is his department's job after all…" and a plan was made to get Mr Weasley up to Hogwarts. A silver arm came through the wall, stayed there for a few seconds before coming through attached to the ghostly body of Nearly Headless Nick.

"Hi Nick" Hermione said.

"Good evening, Miss Granger. Good Evening, Mr Potter" the ghost said. "Madam Pomfrey has asked me to inform you that the Goblin known as Griphook has awoken and would like to see you" and the pair thanked him before heading down to the Hospital Wing.

#

"I knew she was devious…" Fudge said. "I didn't know how criminal she was" he looked back at the list again. A search made by the DMLE investigators had turned up some stolen texts, some poisons, a number of blood quills, a Hypnotoad worshipping statue, wands that had been enchanted to be untraceable and a number of dark arts objects. The texts had been claimed by her as stolen, and the ones implicated sent to Azkaban for long stretches of time. The wands were only supposed to be used by the DMLE when a prisoner was released and was given one until they could get a new wand made. The only other exemption was when an Auror's wand was broken and they could not get a replacement quickly. The lists went on to indicate other items, but Fudge just read the top quarter of the first one

"She is denying that she has done wrong, and claims that she has helped to save the magical world" Madam Bones said. "According to her, the people she had sent to prison would have gone over to the Dark Arts, so she decided to have them put away before they could do any harm" and Fudge sighed and put down the paperwork.

"Go through everything and find out who is still in Azkaban that Umbridge put in. If they seem not to be your typical Death Eater, then have them released at once and given generic wands to use as a stop gap measure. If anybody on that list died and who should not have been in prison in the first place… compensate their families and tell them exactly what happened with Umbridge – the full truth as well" Fudge looked at the department head. "From the look of things, she sent a number of children to live in the muggle world with memories wiped and magic bound. I want you to get the Unspeakables to look into removing the binds and restoring the memories. Liaise with Magical Records and see if any of the children have living relatives. If they are now orphans, then the compensation is to go into vaults with a limit set per month. If they want to go to Hogwarts or other magical schools, then the Ministry shall pay for all of their school items through all seven years. Hell…" he said, "We might as we go the whole way. Get hold of Education and see what they can do about having those that had their memories wiped be taught by tutors so they can control accidental magic and to teach them the normal amount of magical history that they would have known at that age – everything by the Ministry, mind you" he reminded Bones.

"What has happened to you, Cornelius?" she asked. "You seem like the man I used to know years ago" and Fudge thought about his answer before replying.

"The Ministry, under my leadership, has failed once already with Harry Potter. I am not going to let it be the hallmark of my administration" he said. "Umbridge was a mistake that I made, and now I am going to do my level bets to make it up to those involved" and Bones could not believe the change that had come over the man. He had been a great and honest man when he first became Minister, but had fallen to the incompetence she had seen with Bagnold's rule as Minister. The Auror guard outside the Minister's had told her of a short meeting between him and Harry Potter, and Madam Bones was seriously thinking on getting a time turner to be at the meeting herself to know what went on. She returned to her office and began issuing the needed orders and requests.

#

"… _next week. In other news, Gringotts's management today announced that Harry Potter refuses to return four Goblins at Hogwarts, under an agreement made between themselves and the Ministry. When asked by this, the Minster for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, replied that the agreement was not binding in any way. He also added that the four Goblins were under a sentence of death that had not been imposed by the Ministry. He praised Mr Potter and an unnamed person with him for rescuing the four and seeking prompt medical treatment for them. And now for the Quidditch results. It was a fairly mixed day for all the teams in action today, and _…" the WWN presenter fell silent as Hermione switched off the wireless. By the time they had got to the Hospital Wing, Griphook had fallen back into sleep, so it was the middle of the next day when they were able to speak to him.

"How are you?" Harry asked the Goblin.

"I am doing very well" said Griphook, "All things considered" he added, looking at his bandages. "Your Madam Pomfrey informs me that you and Miss Granger faced down our most bloodthirsty warriors whilst saving me and my family. I owe you both my life and that of my family's. However, the bank confiscated everything I had saved over the years, and I have no way to pay you back" the Goblin said.

"You don't need to do that" Hermione blushed.

"But I do, Miss Granger" Griphook said. "I have no way to repay your kindness with money, so I am giving you one of my daughters each to use as a slave to be used for cooking, cleaning and sex whenever you so wish it. I have talked it over with my wife and she fully agrees with that decision" and then he was confused when both teens burst into laughter. "Is this not enough?" he asked.

"Griphook, I can not speak for Hermione, but I, for one, don't want a slave or have sex with an eight year old" Harry said. "You owe me and Hermione your lives, and you are bound by magic to repay us in some way – you can't help that. However, we have to face Voldemort in a rather large scuffle, so you and your wife help us and we'll call that debt repaid" he told him.

"And as for your little girls, I am sure that we can find some way for them to repay that as well" Hermione put in.

"I thank you both" Griphook could not believe that the humans were as kind and generous as they were being at that moment. "I should be away from here in another day or so" he added.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked him.

"We can not return to our homes in the caves under the bank" Griphook reminded them. "Despite our hatred of each other, there are a few Gnomes that will take us in in Switzerland, and I might be able to get a job with their bank as well. I have dealt with them many times over the years, and I have made a few friends there" and the teens looked at other before Harry shrugged.

"If there was another option would you take it?" he asked.

"Of course"

"Then I would like to offer you a job at Hogwarts" Harry said. "I need somebody who can take care of all of the school's finances. Albus Dumbledore has been cooking the books for a number of years now, and everything is in a right state because of it. You would have holidays, and a decent wage. The job comes with a set of rooms for you and the family as well as an office to work from" Griphook could not believe his luck. He was faced with certain death after watching his family be killed in front of his eyes, and now he had his family alive and well, a job, money and a place to call home.

"It seems that I owe you double now" Griphook said. "However, I fear that some of the public will not take kindly to my being on the staff of Hogwarts" he added.

"Harry has the last say on appointments" Hermione told him. "And we have friends in high places" and Griphook thanked the pair again for their kindness. After they had left, the Goblin lay back in the bed and allowed himself to dream about having an office all to himself. The first thing he would do would be to go and buy himself a pocket watch to wear from his waistcoat. He was not a typical Goblin, and enjoyed reading all about the muggle world and was amused by some of their inventions. As Griphook thought about it, he would very much like a pocket watch on a chain…

#

A careful search through the records that Umbridge had kept unearthed six children who had been orphaned, their memories wiped, magic bound and sent to live with the muggles. The Unspeakables looked into the matter of undoing it all, and promised Fudge they would have something by the end of the week. Other people had been found locked away in prison, and their families barred from holding good jobs. They were released, compensated for what they had been through and offered counselling if they wanted it. Amelia Bones would have kissed Fudge, but simply allowed him to slap Umbridge when she tried threatening him, herself and several Aurors' families. When it came to what had happened with the woman, Fudge was honest about everything and apologised to the public for not paying more attention to what had been going on for years. Harry was as good as his word, and after hearing Fudge on the radio, told the press how surprised and pleased he was to see a leader take the blame for something he had not done.

"The sign of an honest man" he had said at an election campaign rally.

Griphook and his family were released from the hospital wing and moved into their new rooms inside the castle. He had a day to settle in before starting his job going over the numerous accounts in the Hogwarts name. The staff found their jobs to be easier if they wrote down what they wanted for teaching supplies and then allowed Griphook to buy them. Blaze, his wife, helped in the accountancy course whilst there was a heart warming moment involving Charity and Bubbles, his two daughters, after they had been cornered by Draco Malfoy and his goons. The trio had been hitting the young Goblins with powerful stinging hexes, and Daphne Greengrass had been passing when she came upon the incident.

"Stop it now, Malfoy" she said. "They haven't done anything to you" but Malfoy smirked.

"They are just animals, Greengrass. Why are you defending them? Are you cursed or something?" he asked.

"Girls" Daphne addressed the two shaking Goblins, "Stay behind me" and she used her free hand to push them both behind her for some protection. Her other hand was gripping her wand which pointed at her fellow Slytherins.

"Get her!" Malfoy ordered Crabbe and Goyle, and the goons lunged forwards towards Daphne and Griphook's daughters. The prefect took down the pair but was facing stiff competition from the ferret. Although she was quite powerful, Malfoy wore her down and he very nearly won. Dean Thomas happened to be on his way for lunch when he saw what Malfoy was doing. Sizing up the situation, he drew his wand and stood alongside Daphne and defended the girls until Malfoy was disarmed, stunned and tied up. Whilst Daphne saw to the injuries of the young Goblin girls, Snape came on the scene and gave detentions to the pair of them for attacking other students. When Dean told him what Malfoy had been doing, the Potion Master had snorted and echoed much the same thing as Malfoy had.

"And that will be an extra week of detention for disrespect to a teacher" Snape added.

"To hell with this" and Dean stunned the teacher and tied him up like Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. He and Daphne then took the girls and the bound up persons to the Hospital Wing where Pomfrey calmed them down and healed their minor cuts. When McGonagall heard, she was filled with rage, and recommended that Snape be terminated from his position forthwith. Harry did it after a quick search for killer cyborgs that would do the task in his place turned up nothing. Griphook and Blaze thanked Daphne and Dean for saving their children, and asked if there was something they could do in return. Meanwhile, McGonagall was filling in paperwork for Harry to sign which expelled Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle from Hogwarts. Harry made it clear that evening that he would not stand for bullying, and that anybody found to be doing so after a third offence would be expelled. It was great amusement for all four houses when Lucius Malfoy came up to the castle and protested his son's expulsion. Harry's reply was to have two elves escort the irate man to the staff room whilst the Headmaster was engaged on important matters – should Harry eat the lamb or the beef for dinner? Also present, at Harry's request were Griphook, Blaze and their two children at the staff table which stretched to accommodate the extra people. The Goblins normally ate alone in their rooms, but it seemed as if Harry was making a point about people being equal.

#

"Only a few days until the Christmas holiday" Hermione said.

"I am looking forward to them" Harry replied. "Do you think it is really alright if I stay with you and your parents?" he asked.

"Of course it is" Hermione assured him. "You got on well with them before school started, and you don't have any other place to go after all" she added.

"Pity about tomorrow" Harry sighed. The next day was the trial of Ron for what he had done at the beginning of the school year, and Harry and Hermione were not looking forward to it that much. The only saving grace was that as witnesses, they only had to give evidence rather then conduct the case against their former friend themselves.

"What I can not understand is why Mrs Weasley thinks you will ask for Ron to be set free" Hermione said.

"She is badly out of luck then" her boyfriend replied.

"Indeed she will be" McGonagall said. She came over to where they were sat in the library with a curious expression on her face.

"Is something wrong, Professor?" asked Hermione.

"Amelia Bones just contacted me with information about the trial" the deputy headmistress said.

"What about it?" enquired Harry.

"It seems that after Ron Weasley was placed in the Ministry cells, his mother visited him as his rights allowed" McGonagall glanced around for anybody that might be near, but she found none within earshot and so continued. "Three hours ago, the door to his cell blew open and Mr Weasley stepped out. It seems as if she gave him an undetectable wand, and he used it to break out of his cell" Harry became alarmed.

"Are we in any danger?" he asked.

"Very unlikely" McGonagall replied. "The duty guards came rushing down to investigate the explosion, but he cut them down before they could stop him. Two of them are dead, and the third is expected to make it but with the loss of one leg. From what I was told, Mr Weasley then started mowing down Aurors sent down to apprehend him, and three were killed and six injured – two critically. I am afraid to report that, although he got up to the Atrium, Ron Weasley was killed whilst trying to escape" and Hermione gasped while Harry closed his eyes and groaned.

"Dead?" Hermione said.

"Dead, Miss Granger" McGonagall confirmed. "He is an ex-Weasley. He has ceased to be" she added.

"Have they found out where the wand came from?" asked Harry.

"It came from the DMLE evidence room" McGonagall told him. "It still had its tag on, and someone was able to find that it was a wand that went missing five weeks ago. They haven't been able to discover who took it yet, but an arrest warrant has been issued for Molly Weasley" and Harry nodded slowly.

"Has anybody told Ginny yet?" he asked.

"Arthur is on his way now with Fred and George" McGonagall replied. "She… doesn't know yet" and left to greet the arriving male members of the Weasley family.

"This is going to cause a lot of trouble" Harry said. "And Skeeter is going to cause a lot of trouble for Mr Weasley" and Hermione agreed.

"We should be there for Ginny" she said, but Harry disagreed.

"I think this is time for her to be with family" he said. "If she wants to see us, then she knows where we will be. Thinking about it, she might as well go home earlier then the rest of us" and the teens left the library – all thoughts of working gone from their minds.

#

"What would you suggest?" asked Neville on the train. "You can hardly summon Mrs Weasley" he added.

"I say that Dumbledore is behind this" said Luna.

"How so?" asked Harry.

"Well" Luna said, putting down her book on _20 Ways to Give a Blow Job_, "It is really quite simple. Ron gets nothing at the will reading for Sirius Black. He presumably sees Albus Dumbledore before the will reading, and something is arranged between the pair of them. Given the fact he had potions ready to give to Hermione, I would assume that he would start dosing her with them when you two stayed with them over the summer. Because you didn't do that, the potions degraded into a poison which could harm Hermione. I guess he planned to save her life and arrange it so she owed him a life debt" and Hermione frowned.

"Life debt?" she questioned.

"Something all the old pureblood families know about" Luna replied. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before continuing. "The explanation is rather long, but suffice to say Hermione would have been forced to be Ron's girlfriend and sex slave. Given the fact Ginny was also poisoned by the same potions, he was planning on making you and her get together – thereby removing you from Hermione's interest"

"So what about the wand?" asked Harry.

"Dumbledore is the Chief Warlock, and nobody would suspect him of any misdeeds. He could have ordered the keeper of the wand room to leave, and then taken one before confounding the person on duty. He sees Mrs Weasley who sees Ron after he was moved to the Ministry cells. She gives him the wand and tells him to break out at a certain time when the guard is at the lowest. Somebody should look into Mrs Weasley's memories after they find her. I am sure you will find missing gaps in it" Luna finished her thoughts. The whole thing made sense when looked at it in the right way. Given the fact that there was a long standing friendship between the Weasleys and Dumbledore, Harry and Hermione could well believe that the former Headmaster was behind the wand that Ron had.

"But Ron could never have got out of the Ministry" Neville said.

"That's the question" Luna said.

"He wasn't supposed to…"Harry said darkly.

"Huh?" Neville said.

"You remember how bad Ron was in the DA lessons? The only he caused so much trouble was because the Aurors didn't know he had a wand and were taken unawares. Dumbledore arranged for the wand to be given to Ron, and then expressed shock at the events that took place. He was getting rid of any evidence that tied him to the potions or loophole in the enchantments that keep boys from the girls' dorms… for the most part" he finished. It had been discovered that Harry could go all the way to the 7th Year girls' dorm if he chose, though nobody was sure if this was because he was the Headmaster or because the castle knew he had no plans on having sex with Hermione in the dorm room.

"Then we must contact the Ministry and inform them of this" Neville said.

"Inform them of what?" Hermione snorted. "We didn't see it happening. Raving mad they'll say, and so desperate to see Dumbledore put away that we'll say anything" she added.

"And they would be correct" Luna said. "We only have a theory, which happens to fit the facts"

"We should keep an eye on what Dumbledore does" said Harry. "He is still very powerful as Chief Warlock, and he ether taught or helped many of those that work there – meaning he is in a position to select people willing to help him" he looked out the window. "Nearly at Kings Cross" he said, and floated the trunks down from the overhead racks. The train pulled into the platform, and the doors opened up and seemingly vomited pupils returning home for the Christmas break.

"Just a short trip through the looking glass" Hermione grinned at Harry.

"I am looking forward to GET DOWN!" he shouted as a brilliant green spell flew over his head and hit the side of the carriage – smashing a number of windows as it did so. People screamed and dived for what cover there was, and some took out wands and started casting at the oncoming figure.

"We've found her" Hermione said, getting up off the platform floor and taking out her wand. Molly Weasley thundered down the platform stunning people as she went, and keeping on a dead track for Harry.

"You've lost me my son, you bastard!" she screeched.

"I did no such thing" Harry said. "He was killed whilst trying to escape custody. Who gave him that wand, might I ask?" but this enraged the woman who screamed like a banshee and renewed her attack.

"_Imperio_" Harry cast. "Stop your attack and hand over your wand" and Mrs Weasley did as she was told, then stunned by Neville.

"Do you realise what you have just done?" Hermione was pale as Aurors arrived on the scene.

"If I hadn't, then she could have injured or even killed people" Harry said.

"I understand that you used _Imperio_ on Mrs Weasley" said the nearest Auror.

"If I had not, then she would have killed people" Harry said.

"Oh, fair enough" and the Auror walked off to speak to other witnesses.

"Hermione, our chariot awaits. See you later, Luna and Neville…" Harry took Hermione's arm and pulled her through the barrier before she could utter a word.

#

Harry had never been in a happy home for Christmas, and he was like an oversized child as he ran about each room looking at all of the decorations in the house. The three Grangers just watched him with happiness that he was finally getting the good Christmas he so badly deserved.

"I want to thank you again for saving my daughter's life" said Hermione's father, Daniel. "If there is anything you want, then you its all yours" he added. Harry was thoughtful as he toyed with his stew.

"I want to have full penetrative sex with your daughter in her bedroom tonight" he said with a straight face.

"HARRY!" Hermione shouted as she went scarlet from embarrassment.

"Well I did say anything" her father said.

"Your daughter's friendship means a great deal to me" Harry smiled as Hermione climbed down from Mount Shame. "I know she has been writing to you about me because I am her boyfriend. I was wondering if, seeing you owe me a debt, you would allow me to spend next summer here with you three. I have a house in Cornwall, but I have no place to go" Harry looked hopeful at the elder Grangers.

"That all?" asked Emma.

"There is one other thing" admitted Harry, "But I don't think me and Hermione are into our relationship for that just yet" he added.

"That is the sign of a mature young man" Daniel said.

"You're lucky to have him, Hermione" Emma said.

"He's lucky to have me" Hermione smiled at Harry.

"Perhaps after tonight even luckier" Daniel said – getting the last word in.


	7. Point Proved

**Point Proved**

Christmas had been the best of his life so far for Harry, and he was like a big kid when he awoke to find four feet of snow in the garden of the Grangers. He opened the bedroom window, climbed through and did a belly landing into the white stuff below.

"Is he always like this?" Hermione's father asked.

"Only on days ending in the letter 'y' really" his daughter had replied. Harry was deadly serious about never going back to Hogwarts again, but he knew that he had to return to finish his schooling. Upon his arrival, he was given a note by Peeves which stated that Griphook wished to see him as quickly as possible. He headed off to the Goblin's office to find out what he wanted.

"I am pleased you were able to come so quickly, Headmaster" Griphook said.

"Harry, please…" the boy reminded him. "Your note said it was urgent that we spoke"

"I got some news from one of my few remaining friends at Gringotts" Griphook began. "The matter of my leaving the bank's service has become something of an… issue for some. A number of the staff are dissatisfied by the way things are being run by the current board, and most of them wish to leave as I did"

"You mean being rescued by me and Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Not _quite_ like that" said Griphook with a smile. "Many of the Goblins concerned are ones I have known since I started working there many years ago. As I have said before, there are a few of us who can not take what Albus Dumbledore and the management have done to you and the Potter Family. We are very small in number however, and those that wish to leave have no place to go. Some have expressed a wish to join me here at Hogwarts, but the decision is up to you of course" Griphook watched as Harry mulled this over in his mind.

"So they will just hand in their letters of resignation and then leave?" he asked at last, but Griphook shook his head.

"No Goblin has ever left the bank's service once they have entered it" he told Harry. "Any attempting to leave without permission are subject to be killed at once"

"So how do you propose that we get your friends out?" Harry asked.

"There is a tunnel leading from a muggle tube station" the Goblin said. "Not many at the bank know of it. We could get into the bank using that, get as many as we can and then use the same tunnel getting out and portkeying away"

"And if we are stopped?"

"Then we sort it" the Goblin was relaxed about it.

"Woah…" Harry breathed. "Now just wait a moment here, Griphook. What you are talking about is tantamount to an all out war with your kind. Saving you and your family was one thing, but this is invading a sovereign nation we're talking about"

"You will not do it?"

"I didn't say that, but I'm going to have to think about this, Griphook" Harry said.

"Please be quick about it, Harry" the Goblin said. "If the group is discovered, they will be put to death"

"How long do you think we might have at best?"

"At best? I would estimate perhaps two days… maybe three" and Griphook's gaze turned into one of pleading. "No Goblin has ever pleaded with a human before, but I do so now to save those that want to do right. Entire families are at risk because of what I have done. Do not let them die as payment for my actions"

"I have to talk to the rest of the staff about this" Harry got up from the chair. "In the meantime, I want detailed maps of the living quarters, security layouts, patrol routes, tunnel location and position – anything that is helpful in even the smallest degree" a thought occurred to him. "You say a number you know well over the years. What do you think of Fangtooth?"

"Fangtooth? Sometimes follows the rules to the letter, but is generally a good and honest Goblin. Why do you ask?"

"Would he be sympathetic to the movement?" Harry asked.

"Perhaps" Griphook said.

"If I find that it is possible for this plan to work, then we can use him to send a message saying what is in store and what they have to do. If you'll excuse me, I think I better call a staff meeting" and Harry returned to the Headmaster's office. "Dobby?" he called, and the elf appeared before him as always. "Can you take me back to the Headmaster's office please? Then after that, I want tea and some small finger food for about thirty people"

# # # # #

NOW HEAR THIS! NOW HEAR THIS! ALL MEMBERS OF STAFF TO REPORT TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE. ALL MEMBERS OF STAFF TO REPORT TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE… ATTENTION! HEAD BOY AND GIRL TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE. ALL PREFECTS TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE

"You rang?" asked Flitwick - the last to arrive. The office was very crowded all members of staff, the Head pupils plus the Prefects all in the room.

"Thank you for coming on short notice" Harry said. "As you all know, four Goblins reside in the castle after being rescued by myself and Hermione. It seems that there is some kind of movement there that shares the same views as Griphook, however it appears that the movement is close to being discovered and members put to the sword. He has therefore asked me to get them all out, and to _deal_ with any guards. Before agreeing to anything, I would like your opinions on the matter" Harry waited for the first to speak.

"We should go and get them" said Luna. Harry had taken great pleasure in naming her a Ravenclaw Prefect, and had spent an entire afternoon finding a tinsmith that would make a Prefect badge with little radishes around the edge.

"I agree" said Daphne Greengrass. "It is because of their honesty that they are in danger"

"Has anybody thought that we would be risking war with the Goblins?" asked McGonagall.

"No more so then if we were to take on Voldemort" Harry replied. "And I seriously doubt that they will attempt anything on our finances so quickly" he added.

"Why?" asked Cho Chang.

"For the last few months, all of the contents in both the Potter vaults and those assigned to Hogwarts have been placed into two expandable trunks. They are charmed to teleport to this office should they be tampered with" Harry explained.

"May I ask where you are going to put them?" asked Sprout. "We do not have all that many rooms here"

"What about converting some of the classrooms?" asked Hooch.

"That would only hold so many" Neville replied.

"What about the chamber?" Hermione asked.

"What chamber?" McGonagall asked.

"The chamber of secrets" Hermione said. "It is big enough to hold a fair few Goblins and their families. Just have to get rid of that giant snake…"

"Is that a slight on me?" asked Daphne dryly.

"Harry battled and killed a snake back in our second year" Neville said.

"Hang on" said the new Potions Teacher, a man named Jeffery Nials. "Are you suggesting that we place the Goblins in a cave?"

"They like that sort of thing" Cho shrugged.

"I am not suggesting that for a moment" Harry said. "According to legend, the Chamber is actually everything under the castle and the grounds. I was thinking that we get some of the school's house elves to find the larger part of the system and have them turn it into living areas"

"What about the rest of it?" asked the Head Boy.

"I was thinking of turning that into an underground swimming pool, gym and stuff like that" Harry replied.

"Are you seriously suggesting that we rip up nearly everything in the chamber and turn it into a keep fit club?" Daphne asked.

"I think he is" Luna said flatly.

"How can I help?" asked the Slytherin.

"When I took over this place as Headmaster, I promised to create some winds of change" Harry sipped his tea. "One of those ways it to bring in more modern technology and ideas to the school. Now I am not suggesting that we simply throw away thousands of years of magical history, but I am thinking that we could compliment it with additional lessons like art, music, physical education and things like that"

"That is going to cost a lot of money" said Sprout.

"Good job we're getting a load of chartered accountants then" McGonagall said. "I agree with Pomora though. Albus left the finances in a shocking state as Mr Griphook has found out. If we can not recover some of the money, then I am afraid we shall have to raise the school fees" the Deputy said. They talked for some time about the idea of rescuing the Goblins. In the end it was agreed that they would do it, and the Head Boy and Girl and the Prefects would help the staff with warding the school more securely, and Harry, Hermione and Griphook would set out for London after a day or so to allow as many as possible to know about the message.

# # # # #

"Hey" Harry called as he entered the bathroom. "Are you here?" and a ghostly figure came out of one of the cubicles.

"Yes?" Myrtle said.

"I just wanted to know if you liked your new toilet" Harry said, conjuring up a seat to seat himself on.

"Oh it is just nice, thanks…" replied the ghost.

"Thought you'd like it" Harry told her. "Nobody ever seems to visit you to talk" he added.

"Oh, one person does all the time" Myrtle told him. "Luna often comes up to speak to me, but nobody else seems to like me enough to come and talk" and Harry felt sorry for the ghost.

"I know I could have made time to speak to you over the years, but I have always been after one dark person or object after another" he said.

"You're sweet, Harry Potter" Myrtle blushed a light silver. "I wish you was around in my own time. I wouldn't have minded having you as a boyfriend or date to the Christmas prom" and she looked sad.

"You never made it to the Christmas prom?" Harry asked her.

"It is not that…" Myrtle told him. "I looked forward to the Graduation Prom. There used to be one for the 7th Years back in my day, but Dumbledore stopped it soon after he became Headmaster. I was killed four months short of it. I even had the dress picked out and everything…" Harry had, by now, counted the ghost amongst his friends, and he felt sad that she had never got one of her greatest wishes.

"I am sorry about that, Myrtle. Perhaps we'll find some kind of way to make it up to you" he said. "Now, another reason I came here is to ask you a big favour"

"If I can do it for you…"

"You often float in the waters of the lake, right?" and the ghost nodded. "If somebody had the right stuff, would they be able to get inside the castle by swimming in the lake and getting up the old pipes?" he asked.

"Maybe" the ghost replied. "A lot of the pipes are quite small, but I suppose that you could get up if you knew which ones to go for" the dead girl mused. She looked sharply at Harry. "Are you suggesting that the school is threatened by Dumbledore?" and Harry nodded.

"Him or people working for him" he confirmed. "Could you set up a meeting for me between myself and the Mer Chieftainess?" and the ghost became nervous and slightly edgy.

"They like to throw things at me – knowing they pass through me" Myrtle said.

"That is bullying, Myrtle… Go to them, set up the meeting and I shall mention that I don't want them to throw things at you. If they don't like it, then they can leave the lake and never return" and the ghost's jaw dropped opened.

"You'd do that for me?" asked Myrtle.

"For any of my friends" Harry replied, and Myrtle squealed in delight and hugged Harry. He didn't have the heart to say he felt he had been immersed in icy water.

"What if they refuse to speak to me?" she asked suddenly.

"Then tell them that you have a message to deliver to their leader, and that it comes from the Headmaster of Hogwarts. That should take care of any unpleasantness" and Harry watched as Myrtle grew with confidence.

# # # # #

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked him upon his arrival in the common room.

"Been speaking to Myrtle" he replied. "She's doing a little job for me concerning the Mer people. Was something the matter?" and Hermione shook her head.

"We need to talk" she said. "It seems that Ginny never came back on the train" and Harry raised an eyebrow at the news.

"She isn't at Hogwarts?" he asked.

"I had a quick word with most of the others here, but nobody has seen or heard of her the whole day"

"Why do I find that suspicious?" Harry wondered.

"Maybe this is all to do with the attack of Molly Weasley…" Hermione put her mind to it. "If that is the case, then why didn't the twins say anything to us?" she asked.

"That's something else we're going to have to look at later on" Harry noted. "Has Griphook been round with the maps yet?" but his girlfriend shook her head.

"He says he will have them by the morning. The fashion queens are up in our dorm looking at swimming outfits"

"I thought that was a private meeting?"

"Not now…" Hermione smiled. "Luckily, I managed to get them to make an oath saying they would not divulge what they know until an announcement has been made"

"Right… So how did you get them to make that?"

"I promised they could give it a full test" Hermione said. "We had to let Padma into the secret though because she's Parvati's twin" she added.

"Oh, fair enough I suppose" Harry shrugged. "Is it possible to think I am going too far?" he asked his girlfriend as he took off his uniform jumper and loosened his tie. Hermione's hands came up to his shoulders and started to massage the knots out of them.

"The Wizarding World needs a swift kick in the backside, Harry" she told him. "Some of the stuff we learn in the lessons is hopelessly out of date. Take Muggle Studies for instance. According to Babbage, man has only just put people into the air in 'air row playnes' as she calls them. It is no wonder why a lot of Purebloods stick out like a white man in an African village" and Harry chuckled at Hermione's use of that expression.

"You think I should sack Babbage at the end of the year?" he asked.

"I think you should go through a lot of the lessons, look at what is not up to modern ideas and then see what can be done about it" Hermione said, picking up a bottle of cream to rub into her boyfriend's back. Even though he ha been away from the Dursleys for sometime now, he often got some kind of pain in his back from all the beatings he had took over the years.

"Good thing that you suggested Professor Lupin come back as DADA teacher" Harry said, closing his eyes in delight as the aches slowly ebbed away.

"Shame he couldn't make the feast because of his small issue" Hermione said, cleaning her hands with a muttered spell.

"It wasn't that" Harry replied. "It seems that Tonks needed him for her own furry little problem"

"But she isn't a werewolf is she?"

"No… Harry smiled, "But think about it, Mione…" and the girl put two and two together.

# # # # #

Hedwig came swooping in the window two days later with a note in her talons. Dark red patches indicated that at least one person had dripped blood onto it. They had swung into action at once, and Hogwarts was locked down tighter then a virgin's chastity belt.

"Nice place" Hermione muttered. She was creeping along a damp passage with Harry and Griphook. It had been roughly cut into the earth, and the only light came from the wands of the two humans.

"It was hardly designed for espionage work" Griphook replied. "We should be coming up to the end" and as he said that, they turned a corner and exited the hidden tunnel. The trio were stood inside a circular room that had a number of corridors and doors leading off it.

"Which one?" Harry asked.

"That way" Griphook indicated the darkest of the corridors that really looked like hastily drilled tunnels. "The death cells are about three hundred metres down" and they went on.

"When we get there, you'll have to tell them what is going on" Hermione said. "There must be as little noise as possible. Would the parents object if we stunned the youngest children?"

"Normally, they would be very much in the way of objecting, but I think they will overlook it this time around" Griphook said. He stopped so suddenly that the other two bumped into him.

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"A voice that is not a Goblin's" he said, and the two humans shut off the light from their wands and the three moved forwards slowly. In the dim light coming from the cell area, they could see the leader of all the Goblins in the UK, Chief Ragnock, speaking to a tall bearded man in purple robes with gold stars sewn on them.

"_Dumbledore!_" Hermione hissed.

"Are we too late?" asked Harry.

"I do not think so" Griphook said. "They seem to be talking about a tunnelling project that some of Dumbledore's followers are doing from Gringotts"

"I thought you said Hermione and me were the first non Goblins to come down here" Harry said.

"I assumed you were" Griphook's eyes narrowed as a dark thought hit him. "The only other magical building in the country that goes this far down is the Ministry" and both Harry and Hermione realised that Dumbledore was plotting to do something on the Ministry Seconds later, the pair went away leaving the trio to move out into the bright cell area.

"Get talking to them" Hermione said, and Griphook nodded at the order he was given. At the small bared window to each cell, he stuck his head in and spoke rapid gobbledegook. Harry and Hermione worked quickly to unlock the doors and let the imprisoned Goblins out. They were just getting the last group out when a guard came round the corner and spotted them. He sounded the alarms, and there was a running battle all the way along the tunnel to the first point that they could Portkey from. Harry and Hermione cast stunner after stunner as the Goblins got away. When the last group had vanished, they had been left behind so Hermione Side-Alonged Harry to the Ministry where they used the public Floo connection for Hogsmeade. A quick house elf trip later, and they found the Goblins all getting taken care of before being led to the chamber of secrets.

"Check that we got everyone" Hermione told Griphook.

"I better check in with McGonagall" Harry said, and kissed Hermione on the forehead before walking out to the office where he could find his Deputy and Head of House.

# # # # #

"The Goblins want your head on a silver platter by the end of the day" said Fudge.

"And what did you say?" Harry asked him.

"Told them I didn't have a silver platter" Fudge laughed.

"I do not trust the Goblins" Harry said. "Some of those at the bank I mean" he added.

"How so?" Fudge asked.

"The Goblins are working in league with Albus Dumbledore. He is planning to give them some kind of power in the Ministry" Harry said. "Dumbledore craves power, and will do anything he can to stop it being taken away from him" and Fudge thought about it for a while.

"So what do we do?" the Minister asked. "I could have him arrested" he offered.

"That is exactly what he would want us to do" Harry shook his head. "The trouble is that everything he has ever done has been totally legal. As far as I can recall, there is not so much as an unpaid littering ticket" and the door opened and Hermione walked in.

"Miss Granger" Fudge greeted her.

"Good evening, Minister" said Hermione. "Thought I'd let you know that the Goblins are settled down, and that the worse off are getting treated now" she said to Harry.

"We're discussing ways to get Dumbledore" Harry said, shifting so that his girlfriend could share the seat with him.

"To do that, we must first understand Dumbledore" Hermione commented.

"How?" Fudge was curious.

"First of all, we need to know why Dumbledore doesn't just defeat Voldemort himself. Second, why does he pay more then a casual interest in Harry's life? Thirdly, there is the matter of his involvement with Harry's parents. From what I have been able to figure out, he kept insisting that they put him at the top of the people supposed to look after him if they died. From one of the diaries I have been able to read of Lily Potter, Dumbledore also wanted to know all of the account details for the Potter vaults – as well as a number of other old families" Hermione counted them off on her fingers.

"The Potters are an old family indeed" Fudge said. "They own a lot of the properties in the magical world. I am sure you know this already, Mr Potter, but half of magical Britain is involved with your family in terms of business. You are far more richer then the Malfoy, Greengrass, Blaise and Parkinson families put together. You also have more votes then they can cast. And as one of the old families, you have a big say on the way things are run in the Wizendgamot"

"Old families?" Harry asked.

"I suppose that is something else Albus Dumbledore never told you" Fudge said.

"I knew your family was old, but I never knew exactly _how_ old" Hermione said.

"What is an old family then?" Harry asked the school's resident human library.

"They were around when the Council became the Ministry. They had pushed for a broader and more fair system of government. If I remember, the group was made up of the Potters, the Malfoys, the Bones' and the Greengrass family"

"A number of other families as well" Fudge added. "If one of the old families expressed an opinion, then people would sit up and take notice. However, the voting power can be used to pass some very unfair rulings" the Minister added.

"Such as…?"

"Most of the old families either have a background in the Dark Arts or are neutral in any fight. A few, like the Boneses, are firmly on the side of the light" Fudge said. "Those that are on the side of the dark often pass or block laws relating to muggles. I understand that Albus Dumbledore, acting as your steward, voted on that side of arguments – despite the best points put forward by the ones for better treatment and more strict muggle relation laws regarding cruelty" he added.

"Well lets get them changed then" Harry said.

"If only it were that simply, Harry" Hermione said. "With you voting for the side of good now, the split in the Wizendgamot is now an even number. You will have to get a number of families to overturn hundreds of years of tradition and go to the light side"

"And that will cost you" Fudge commented, fiddling with his bowler hat.

"Why?" Harry wondered.

"Like Dumbledore and the Goblins, most people crave power and money. They can buy almost anything that you would ever want. Likewise, votes in the Wizendgamot, court cases as well as Ministry Department Heads can all be purchased for the right sum. I am sorry to say that Lucius Malfoy has been doing it to me for a number of years now" and he looked at the clock. "I must be going. I have an appointment tomorrow with the Japanese Minister of Magic. He wants me to greet his cat for some reason…" and after saying goodbye, Fudge left the office.

"Well all we have to do is find out who to buy on to our side" Harry said.

"Hope we have enough parchment" Hermione said dryly.


	8. Whore Crux

**Whore Crux**

She knew that she was not as good looking as Daphne Greengrass, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, the Patil twins and a whole host of other girls at Hogwarts. She had nearly jumped for joy when Malfoy had been arrested – now she didn't have to marry the little ponce. Her happiness was now dispersed by the letter she had got from her parents.

_Daughter_

_We have found you a suitable person in standing to marry. Your betrothal to Lord Carrow will be at Easter. You will bring great profit to your family upon your marriage to Lord Carrow._

_Mother_

'_Well then_' she thought, '_Get yourself out of this one, Pansy_'

# # # # #

"Let me go!" Ginny shouted.

"You know I can not do that, Ginerva" said her mother. She had tied her daughter to the bed, and had confiscated her wand. She was slowly dosing her with love potions keyed to Harry, and was hoping to be better then her son had been in his attempts.

"I don't want Harry as my boyfriend" Ginny said. Molly slapped her daughter hard around the face and then poured another large dose down Ginny's throat.

"Has she not been changed yet?" asked Dumbledore.

"She is highly resistant to the potions, Albus" Molly said. "She may have built up an immunity from the stuff that Ron gave her" and Dumbledore handed her a small vial of a purple liquid. "If she doesn't become responsive by the end of two days, then give her this. It is a potion version of _Imperio_ that Severus has developed, and it really has the most amazing results" he added. "Ginerva will soon be whoring herself to Harry, and we will gain the Potter fortune for ourselves…" and both adults laughed cruelly as Ginny's eyes widened with fear.

# # # # #

"Would it better if this were blue?" asked an Elf.

"Mmm" Hermione thought about it for a moment.

"Navy blue…" Harry said. The little creature nodded and popped away to get some different paint. "Ginny is going to like what we've done with the place" he said to Hermione.

"When we find her" Hermione said. "Its been a week since she didn't get on the train, and nobody has seen her at all. The Aurors have searched every possible place, checked all ways out of the country and still not a single trace of her"

"Fred and George haven't seen anything at all" Harry added. "If only she did some kind of magic, then we could track the location and then investigate. I don't think that Voldemort has her, or we'd have found her body by now – or at the least a ransom note of some kind"

"What puzzles me is why Mr and Mrs Weasley seem so unconcerned about the whole thing" Hermione said. "I know that people react in different ways, but you would have thought they would display more emotion then confidence"

"Its like the ground has swallowed her up" Harry shook his head as they returned to the castle.

"What?" Hermione giggled. "You think the Weasleys have a chamber of secrets all of their very…" she stopped in her tracks as she remembered something.

"Mione?"

"Harry, I think I know where Ginny might be" she said quickly. "Do you remember Ron showing us that cellar they have under the Burrow?" and Harry nodded. "What if she is being held there?"

"All of the traces said that Ginny was at the house, but they never found her in the searches. Magic couldn't tell the difference because it is part of the house…" Harry ran to the Headmaster's office and flooed directly to the Ministry with Hermione right behind him. As they came in, Mr Weasley was just going home through another floo.

# # # # #

"I assume you have a good reason why you have burst into my office" Fudge said.

"We know where Ginny Weasley is being held" Hermione said through the stabbing pain in her chest from running so hard.

"Where?" Fudge sat up in his chair.

"The Burrow has a number of connected cellars under it, and we think Ginny might be there. A magical trace would indicate that Ginny was at the house, but it couldn't tell you she was under your very noses all the time" Harry said.

"How sure are you of this?" the Minister asked.

"As sure as I saved your arse in the vote" Harry said.

"Right" and Fudge pressed a button on the small box on his desk.

"_Minister?_" Madam Bones's voice came out of the small speaker a moment later.

"I want a full Auror Combat Team ready to deploy in ten minutes" Fudge said.

"_Another display_?" Madam Bones asked.

"Ami, new information has come to light concerning the whereabouts of Ginny Weasley" Fudge said.

"_Who is holding her_?"

"Her own parents" Fudge said.

"_They will be ready_"

"You two had better get to the DMLE and tell Madam Bones everything you know about the layout" and the pair nodded and left as Fudge pulled out some search warrants to fill out.

# # # # #

"… and that is my final word" Bones said.

"Ginny is our friend" Hermione said simply. "She needs out help"

"I assure you that my team is fully capable of doing the job" Bones said.

"It is not your Aurors I am worried about" Harry said.

"If it were up to me, then I would allow you to come with us, but the law is quite clear on this matter. Only Aurors are permitted to take part in operations like this" Bones said. "I promise that we'll go through every part of the cellar system" she added, "But you are not Aurors"

"They are now" Fudge came through the door into the squad room. "They are both Aurors as of ten minutes ago" he pinned the badges to Harry and Hermione's jackets. "Notices must have got lost in the internal mail"

"I see…" Bones was playing her cards straight.

"Here are your search warrants" the Minister handed over the documents allowing the search to take place.

"Very well" Bones nodded. "Aurors, prepare to portkey" the group took hold of the long rope that was made into a portkey. They felt the familiar jerk around their stomachs and appeared in the yard of the Burrow. "Get them barriers up!" Bones shouted, and two Aurors cast a couple of spells each. One group surrounded the yard as Bones, Harry, Hermione and the second group moved towards the house that would haunt the dreams of any safety inspector.

# # # # #

"Molly…" called Mr Weasley.

"What is it?"

"The wards have just been tripped by someone" he said. "I can see some Aurors coming towards the house…"

"HER MAJESTY'S AURORS!" bellowed one of the newcomers. "STAY WHERE YOU ARE" and they poured inside the house.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Mrs Weasley.

"We have grounds to believe you are holding your daughter against her will" Madam Bones said.

"And I suppose that Harry Potter told you?" sneered the tubby witch.

"He did, but I am sure we would have come to the same conclusion" Madam Bones would have said more, but Dumbledore chose that moment to enter the kitchen.

"Good Morning, Director" he oiled. "I happened to catch the beginning of this rather interesting little talk, and I could not help but think that Mr Potter is making some accusations against a senior member of the Ministry. Clearly Miss Weasley is not here, so I am telling you to leave this place at once"

"Aurors" Madam Bones said hitched breath, "This is a direct order. Arrest the Chief Warlock on suspicion of Aiding and Abetting criminals among other charges" and Dumbledore was so surprised that he had magical cuffs on his hands and his wand taken away before he could cast any kind of memory spell on Bones and the Aurors.

"What shall we do with him?" asked one of the Aurors.

"Take him back to the Ministry" Bones said. "Stick him in an interview room until we get back" and the protesting Dumbledore was led away.

"This way, Ma'am…" Harry said, pointing towards a door that hid some steps going down into the floor.

"Is this how you treat us?" screeched Molly.

"After how you have treated me for so many years?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"I raised you like one of my own. When this is sorted out, we're going to have a little tal about manners. Don't you ever talk to your mother li-" SLAP! Harry slap to Mrs Weasley was hard and left a large red handprint on the woman's face.

"DON'T YOU EVER TAL LIKE THAT! MY MOTHER WAS BETTER THEN YOU WILL EVER BE – YOU LAZY FAT SLAG!" Harry had seemingly flipped. "I, Harry James Potter, do call challenge on Molly Weasley. She has insulted my family's honour by suggesting that I am her child"

"Arthur… Do something!" yelled his wife.

"Amelia, can we not try and work this…"

"You can work it out in the cells" Bones said. "Take them both away to the Ministry, and hand out earmuffs to the other people there"

"We've unlocked the door at the bottom of the stairs" said the curse breaker that had come with the Auror team.

"Lets go…" Hermione said, pulling a fuming Harry behind her. The air was very cold in the multiple cellars, and a couple of the group lit wand tips to shed some light around the short passageway under the house. They found Ginny tied to a bed in the very last storeroom, and she was stunned and gagged upon closer inspection by them.

#

"How is she?" asked Harry.

"Considering what has happened to her, she is doing well. I have given her a Dreamless Sleep so she can have a good night's rest" Pomfrey said. Bones had wanted Ginny to go to St Mungos, but Harry and Hermione had put their foot down and said she was returning with them to Hogwarts.

"Was she r… I mean to say, did anybody force…" Hermione failed to think of a way to say what she wanted.

"No" Pomfrey knew the unspoken question. "That is much is very clear from my examinations. I have found a couple of odd spells that I shall have to look up, and Miss Weasley was force fed a couple of compulsion potions mixed with Love Potion" the nurse added.

"I don't suppose you can tell who?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Perhaps" Pomfrey said. "I am having that new Potions Teacher do some checks for me"

"Can she have visitors?" asked Hermione.

"In the morning she can" Pomfrey said.

"That ought to please Luna" Harry said with a faint smile. "Well have a house elf or a ghost find me if something important happens" he added with a yawn.

"I will do" Pomfrey promised the pair. Once they had gone, she returned to the care of her patient.

# # # # #

"Looks like Neville forgot the password again" Hermione sighed, and was surprised to see both Daphne Greengrass and Pansy Parkinson.

"The Bring Back Draco Malfoy party is tomorrow at 8:30" Harry said.

"I need to talk to you, Potter…" Pansy said quietly.

"Can it wait until tomorrow?" asked Harry.

"I'm afraid it can't" Daphne said to him. "Pansy came to me with her problem, and I thought you should hear about it" and both he and Hermione looked at each other and shrugged.

"Well come in then" Hermione turned to the portrait.

"I don't think I am going to be comfortable in there" Pansy said. "A lot of them would love to curse me. I thought that you would have done that already"

"The thought did cross my mind" Harry admitted. "Let's find another room then" and they ended up in a small and unused office at the foot of Gryffindor tower. The fireplace and torches lit as they entered, and they sat in some armchairs by the dusty desk. "So, Miss Parkinson, what seems to be the trouble?" Harry asked the Slytherin.

"I don't know how much you know about Pureblood tradition, but I was betrothed to Draco Malfoy by my parents" pansy said.

"I didn't know that" Harry said, "But please go on" he added.

"Because Draco was expelled and likely to go to prison, my parents told the Malfoys that the whole thing was off. What I didn't know, however, was they looked for another man for me to marry instead – some old guy named Carrow. They just want to marry me off for the huge price they can get for me. According to the old laws, the couple have to have sex on the night of the wedding. The thought of a much older man touching me is sickening"

"You mean they are selling you…?" Hermione was aghast.

"It happens quite a lot of the time" Daphne said. "Most people do not practice it these days, but most of the old families do"

"That is nothing more then slavery" Harry said darkly.

"I don't want to be sold like a slave and used as a baby making machine" Pansy said. "I know that I have no right to ask you this, especially after all the unkind things I've said to you over the years, but will you help me please?" she fiddled with the sleeves of her robes.

"Why should we…?" asked Hermione. She had been the main target for Pansy's cruel taunts over the years.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking over the last couple of months, and I have decided that I want to be on your side. I'm not very pretty anyway, but I kind of wanted to marry on my own terms. I like a lot of traditional stuff, so I suppose that is part of the reason I have been mean to you and Miss Granger" Pansy said to Harry. "Before Christmas, I sat down and had a really good think about everything, and I have decided to try and become a better person. I know that we have nothing in common, but Daphne speaks highly of you"

"You are wrong" Harry said.

"Am I?"

"Daphne is very selective about whom she calls a friend…" and Harry fell backwards as Pansy rushed him into a hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you" Pansy chanted the two words like a spell.

"I am a little tired to do anything right now" Harry said after Hermione and Daphne dragged Pansy off him. "I promise to work on this the moment I get some time tomorrow. Forcing somebody to have sex when they don't want…" Harry stopped speaking as a thought hit him.

"What is it?" Hermione asked him.

"Daph" Harry looked over at the other Slytherin, "What is the age you can legally have sex at?"

"Seventeen" the girl replied. "Outside of Soul Bonds and things like that"

"Soul Bonds" Hermione said with venom.

"I have read a lot of stories concerning those. Some of them are just excuses for underage sex…" Harry said. "Anyway… I think we have your answer already" he said.

"What?" Pansy asked.

"You are sixteen right?" Harry asked, and Pansy nodded. "Well as you are not in a Soul Bond, then having sex on your wedding night would mean that this Lord Carrow is committing the act of rape on you" and lights lit in the eyes of both the Slytherins.

"But he might wait until I am old enough"

"You don't want to marry this man" Harry said. "I will support you in that choice, Pansy"

"How can I ever repay you for your kindness?" Pansy had tears in her eyes.

"I'll think of something, but I want you to think of everybody you have said cruel things to and write them a letter of apology" Harry said. "No doubt your parents will use family magic to bend you to their will, so we'll work on ways around that in the morning" and Pansy just nodded. She had expected Harry to demand he have his way with her, but he was treating her fairly and had called her a friend. Things were looking up for Pansy Parkinson.

# # # # #

At the bottom of the dark, dark road, at the bottom of the dark, dark hole was a dark dark complex. And at the bottom off the dark, dark complex was a dark, dark set of cells. And at the bottom of the dark, dark cells some criminals lived.

"That brat is being completely unreasonable" Molly Weasley said in her cell. "We took his money of course, but it was out right after all. He has put our family in danger a few times now, so we deserve some kind of compensation"

"I am sure that the rush of power has gone to Mr Potter's head" Dumbledore said. "I have no doubt that he will see the error of his ways soon enough"

#

They had been questioning Arthur Weasley for some hours now, and the Aurors thought they had all they needed from him. A court order was being sought to allow the use of truth telling potions in the interrogations of both the Weasley parents and Dumbledore.

"Take him back to his cell" said Bones.

"Anything but that…" Mr Weasley begged.

"Why should we listen to you?" Bones asked him.

"I can't stand my wife anymore. She's always nagging at me about everything. I'm so desperate to be free of her, that I'll put a an Easter Bunny outfit and go on an unarmed suicide mission against Riddle Manor to deliver a cupcake to You-Know-Who" and there was a long silence.

"Riddle Manor?" asked an Auror, and Bones started the recording device once more.

#

"Good Morning, Headmaster" said McGonagall when Harry passed by the top table.

"Morning, Minnie" he winked. It amused him to use nicknames for McGonagall – knowing that she was powerless to stop him. It had been raining very heavily last week, and most people had conjured Wellies to keep their feet dry. Therefore, the nick name for the Deputy had been Puss In Boots.

"I was wondering if I might be excused a day early from lessons this week" said Sprout. "I have been called upon to give a talk about the latest magical plant growing techniques in Belgium" she added.

"Brussels, Sprout?" Harry asked.

"I'm going to find out who gave him a spiked drink this morning" the Herbology teacher said.

"Oh" Harry said as if remembering something, "I have a bunch of five year old muggles coming to your house to put on a performance of The Three Little Pigs"

"What do you mean?" asked Pomfrey from down the table.

"I'll Huffle, and I'll Puffle…"

"Are you feeling alright, Harry?" asked Lupin from Harry's other side.

"Quite alright" he replied. Lupin had been watched carefully since his appointment to the post of Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, and so far had seemed to take very little part in anything against the school or Harry. Apart from a few evenings in the Three Broomsticks, the man had spent his nights in his rooms – minus those days needed away due to his condition. A House Elf that went whizzing through the middle of the hall alerted Harry to the furious Lucius Malfoy. He came storming up to the top table with a face full of fury.

"I want a word with you, Potter!" he spat.

"Just the one?" Harry asked calmly.

"I demand you take back my son" the elder Malfoy said. "Nothing he has ever done to you was illegal, and Professor Dumbledore understood that Draco is a little bit hot headed at times. If you do not reinstate him, then I shall report you to the Board of Governers concerning your conduct. You are bringing this great institution to ruins with your new rules about Muggleborns. Its this relationship with that Granger Mudblo-"

"Finish that sentence, and I will kill you were you stand" Harry said quietly, and all noise in the hall dropped.

"How dare you talk to your betters, boy" Lucius was enraged. "Do you not realise who I am?"

"Wait! Don't tell me… You're Jacoc Issacs, right?. Now then, correct me if I am wrong at all, but are you not a Death Eater? Was it not you that once threatened the Board of Governors with violent beatings and hexes?" Harry said, putting aside his plate.

"None of that was ever proved to be the case" Lucius said. "Now, about my son… I expect a written apology from yourself and financial compensation from yourself and from the school"

"Not going to happen…" Harry said.

"But you will give me everything I demand, or I will see you in court. I have to be at the Ministry to push for new laws banning Muggleborns from entering the Wizarding World" Lucius was smirking as he turned and walked off. "Draco wants Granger as a personal payment, Potter. I suggest that you find yourself another slut to fuck-" but Harry had gone into a terrible rage and upturned the table – sending food, dishes, plates and assorted other stuff crashing to the floor with a loud clatter. Quicker then anybody could see, Harry took his wand out from the Ministry issue holster and hit Lucius Malfoy in the back with a bludgeoning hex.

"DON'T YOU EVER TALK ABOUT HERMIONE LIKE THAT, YOU LITTLE CUNT!" he roared. "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF HER LIKE A THING TO BE TRADED ABOUT!"

"You wouldn't dare kill me" Lucius said as he turned over to face his attacker.

"Wouldn't I?" and Harry produced a smoking hole millimetres from the blond haired man's head. When he had turned to face the staff table to ask for someone to get a couple of Aurors to arrest Lucius, the Death Eater pulled out a concealed wand on Harry.

"_Crucio_" he cast. Harry turned back round in time to see the light leave the wand tip. He was vaguely aware of a chair scraping the floor moments before he was pushed to one side by some large force. The spell hit Pansy and caused her great pain as every nerve screamed to her brain. It was like being put on fire, and the screams made many of the listeners have terrible dreams for several nights.

"GET THE BASTARD!" went the shout around the great hall. The moment that the spell had hit Pansy, all house divisions were put to one side as members from all four houses waded in like Battleships and dealt with the attacker. Even after Lucius Malfoy was stunned and tied up, two people sat on his chest to ensure he didn't get up again until the Aurors arrived a while later..

**A/N:**

**Part of the Christmas bumper.**

**Regardless of whatever religion you are following such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Flying Spaghetti Monster, Rastafarian or others, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas.**


	9. The Calm

**The Calm**

As Lucius Malfoy was being taken to Azkaban, Pansy was taken to the Hospital Wing to be treated by Madam Pomfrey. Dumbledore, using a bit of legal trickery, had got himself released from the Ministry and was deep in talks with the leader of all the British Goblins over a new Goblin rebellion. In return for supporting him and the Order, Dumbledore promised the Goblins the fortunes of anybody they wanted – excepting those families and people that appeared on a list of safe people.

"I am still a little unsure" said Ragnock. "Why should I sacrifice many of my finest Goblins to a new rebellion?" he asked.

"Because you would have more power and riches then ever before" Dumbledore played to a Goblin's greedy nature. "And with power and money come supporters. You could overthrow the leader of all the Goblins around the world and become the leader your people deserve" and Ragnock's eyes widened at the thought.

"When should we start our rebellion?" he asked.

"The time must be right" Dumbledore said. "If I might be so bold, I would suggest the Easter holiday. There will be a lower number of Aurors on duty at that time, and nothing will stand in our way. My only problem that refuses to go away is the small matter of the Goblins at Hogwarts. I am most certain they will be loyal to Harry Potter should we attack Hogwarts"

"The group included a small amount of our warriors, but they are small in number and should not be a problem" Ragnock said.

"I must leave now" Dumbledore said. "At the next session of the Wizendgamot, I shall order that most of the Aurors stand down over the holiday period, and that the Ministry shut down for the same period of time. There is a meeting of the ICW next week, and I should try to muddle things up at that end as well."

# # # # #

The rescued Goblins soon settled down into the new accommodations, and they looked to Griphook as their leader. Some of them set to work doing a complete inventory of the castle from top to bottom, some made lists of what they required, a few took over the money counting and most of the rest helped Griphook with the contracts for the new facilities that were to be built. The rest of the Goblins were either too young to be of much help or else were warriors.

"Excuse me…" a small voice brought Harry out of his thoughts. He looked over the table in the library and saw Griphook's daughters standing before him.

"Is there something I can do for you?" he asked.

"My sister and I wondered if we could start repaying the debt that we owe you" the one called Bubbles said. Harry had forgotten that the Goblins thought they owed him a number of debts, and he raked his mind for something the pair could do.

"Well…" he began, "I have a lot of books that need sorting out. I do not have time myself to do it myself, but I bet that you two could do it"

"Of course, Mr Potter, Sir" said Charity.

"Sir?" Harry said with a mock frown. "Did I get a Knighthood?" and the young Goblins giggled with amusement. Despite their attack by Malfoy and his goons, the pair liked humans a great deal, and Hermione thought they had a crush on him. "After you have done that, come and find me for something else to do" and he led them to the Headmaster's office where the books that had been there since Dumbledore had left remained. Some of them had not been read in a long time, and the vastness of the private library would keep the young Goblins occupied for sometime. At the bottom of the stairs leading up to the office, he found Lupin just about to come up.

"I was looking for you" he said. "I have something I want from you"

"Do I have to put on my Headmaster's hat?" Harry asked.

"In a way" Lupin said with a small smile. "I was wondering if you'd agree to speak to my Third Year classes about your experiences with You-Know-Who"

"That isn't really suitable for people of that age" Harry said.

"Perhaps a small duel then?" suggested Lupin. "Many students here fear him and his Death Eaters. If my class could see you in a duel, then they would feel safe and get to see what a real fight is" and Harry thought about it for a while.

"Very well" he decided. "When is your next Third Year class?"

"I have a class tomorrow with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but I would wish to have them all in the class at once" Lupin said. After they had split, Lupin went to his quarters and wrote a letter to Dumbledore for some poisons that would seriously harm Harry.

#

Harry had taken Hermione out for a little bit of a romantic dinner down at the Old Bull and Bush, and listened to a little German band play whilst they ate. After the meal, a luxury car was waiting outside to take them on a tour of London before heading to the West End to catch a performance of Starlight Express – sitting in one of the boxes by themselves. Whilst staying with Hermione and her family over the summer, they had taken him to see a number of West End shows including Les Miserables, CATS, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and a couple of others. Hermione was glad of Pensieves for once as she had gone in with a special magical camera for the reaction of Harry. He had never been in a theatre before, and his eyes had gone wide at all of the seats, the boxes above them, the music, the lights and everything else had held a magical wonder that surpassed even his first look at Hogwarts.

"That was amazing" said Harry as they stepped out of the building.

"I liked it as well" Hermione said. "But it was even better by the simple fact I spent an evening with you" she added. They got in the waiting car which took them to a cabaret act. When the evening was over with, the car took them to a hotel where they stayed in separate rooms. Hermione fell asleep with happy memories running through her mind, and Harry sat in a chair in his room reading the programme from Starlight Express several times before he turned in for the night as well.

# # # # #

"Right, spill it, Miss Hermione Jane Granger" Parvati said the moment Hermione stepped into her dorm.

"Let a girl sit down will you?" she replied. She hung her periwinkle blue dress up in the wardrobe before sitting on a rug which had been spread out on the carpeted floor. "It was so romantic" Hermione began. "We went to a little muggle restaurant where they played music whilst you ate. Then we went to the theatre to watch Starlight Express, then to a cabaret show before going to the best hotel in London"

"Did he…?" asked Lavender.

"No" Hermione said. "Harry said he knew that it would be on my terms, and he didn't mind waiting until I was ready to go the whole way with him. I did let him watch me take the dress off though"

"Bet you had to drag him to his own room afterwards" Parvati said.

"Actually, Harry took care of himself last night" Hermione said, and went a deep shade of red. The other two girls also went red and were shocked at the thought of Harry – good clean Harry – taking care of matters himself at the sight of Hermione undressed.

"Should we get some plastic sheets for you?" asked Lavender dryly.

# # # # #

How is she?" asked Harry. Pansy was sleeping in one of the many beds in the Hospital Wing.

"Very well – all things considered" Pomfrey replied. "The curse was not applied for very long, so she should be up and about in a day or so" she added.

"What about nerve damage?" Harry was curious.

"Well, I think that should be alright in a week or two" Pomfrey said. "The nerves themselves will act as normal, but they will also send her sharp pains. I would like to put her on a potion that she would take _at least_ three times a day, or whenever the pain gets too much"

"Can you have it ready for tomorrow?" asked Harry, looking back at the sleeping Slytherin.

"If I started now, then I am sure I could do so. The problem is that some of the ingredients are hard to come by. I shall have to have her come by here every six hours to get a potion that will work less then the other one" and Harry looked at the list of things Pomfrey needed.

"Right then" he said, "Lets see what we can do about this…" and he turned and walked away.

# # # # #

"What do you want, Mr Potter?" asked the apothecary assistant. Harry walked down the rows of shelves with a two assistants behind him.

"I'll take some of that, a couple of bottles of this, three dozen scoopfuls of whatever the hell this is…" he pointed out things that took his fancy.

"Certainly, Sir" the senior assistant said. The owner would have dealt with such an important customer himself, but he was at Jam making seminar in Cornwall.

"Some of those, nine cases of that blue liquid, some of that finer Gillyweed, a packet of that, six vials of those…" Harry continued picking things at random whilst he gave the three assistants minor heart attacks from the spending spree that Harry was going on.

"Mr Potter, I am sure that you don't have enough here" the senior assistant said.

"Hmm?" Harry looked behind him at the floating baskets that were filled with stuff. "You maybe right… I'll take six dozen of those" he pointed to a crate filled with what looked like bottles of bull sperm. Harry was about to finish and pay for everything when he spotted a large tub of caviar. "I'll have a kilo of that as well please. But would you have it delivered to this address?" he told them the address of Hermione's parents.

"Certainly" the assistant said. "Just let me tot this up for you…" he started working out some sums in his head.

"Tell you what" Harry said after a few seconds, "Take this 200 Galleons. If it isn't enough, then just drop me a letter and we'll settle up later. Have this lot sent to Hogwarts as quickly as you can please" Harry tipped out the contents of a small pouch and then left the stunned assistants to start getting things together for delivery. He walked up the dark street that made up Diagon Ally, ending up at the front entrance to Gringotts. The guards saw him and followed him with their eyes. Harry's reply was to unshrink the barrel of fermented cow's milk and put it right where they could see it. He knew that they could not leave their posts for anything short of an all out attack. Harry made his way back down to the Leaky Cauldron where he had a quick hot chocolate before heading back to Hogwarts. The most desperate of the stuff he had just brought had already arrived by special house elf, and Pomfrey was amazed that he had been able to source most of what she needed. Apart from the trip to Diagon Ally, Harry had taken a little wonder into Knockturn to pick up the more rare items on the shopping list.

# # # # #

"The potion is nearly ready" Pomfrey said. "It requires another full hour at boiling levels before it has to be cooled rapidly" she added.

"At least she'll be better" Harry said.

"Indeed…" Pomfrey said. "Mr Potter, some of this stuff is rarer then blood from stones. How much did this cost you?" the witch asked.

"Ask me no questions" he replied, "And I shall tell you no lies…"

# # # # #

Pansy had her first potion later that morning and was well enough to move about a little bit around the Hospital Wing. When Pomfrey deemed her fit enough, two Aurors came to interview her about her viewpoint of Lucius Malfoy's attempted attack on Harry. He, putting on his gold and red conical 'Headmaster' cap, sat in on the interview. They left that afternoon after taking a copy of the case notes to be used in evidence in the trial of Lucius Malfoy. The papers all speculated as to the reasoning of why Harry had brought several hundred Galleons of the finest potion making items money could buy. As the last couple of days were so eventful, Harry cancelled the rest of the day's lessons and declared it free for everyone. This upset Lupin as he had built up the wards which would allow him to kill Harry in what looked like a terrible accident. At least Harry had promised to do the duel the following day, allowing him to make a few extra wards ready to pop up and treat him to an early present.

"This is beautiful, Harry" Hermione said, snuggling into his arms.

"I thought you might like it" Harry replied. The pair had taken one of the boats from the boathouse and gone for a little bit of sailing around the lake. Dobby had packed them a small picnic, and they dipped into it as they went along at a steady speed.

"I hear that you have been spending a little bit of money" Hermione said to him.

"After what Pansy did, it was only fair she got the best stuff on the market" Harry replied. "Besides, I popped into the builder's office and he said that the finishing touches to our little project would be ready in a couple of days. Dobby has the house elves ready to do the fitting out of everything after that, so by the weekend we should be ready to start using our new facilities" he added.

"Has Dobby remembered to get some sound proofing for our special room?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah" Harry said quickly. "Though I am having the builders put a sort of airlock in so the noise doesn't come out as much – if ever"

"Thank god we've got those padlocked metal trunks to keep the weapons in there" Hermione said. "I assume that the launch tunnel will be smoothed out?" and Harry nodded.

"By the time everything kicks off, we'll be able to send people up in the air from underground" he assured her. Apart from the things that Harry had told the staff, Head boy and Girl, the Prefects and select Goblins, the builders were also fitting out the remainder of the Chamber of Secrets with large dorms, bathrooms, offices, kitchens, workshops, potion laboratories, medical facilities and lots more other things. The mad spending spree Harry had gone on had been two fold. It was true that he had been getting things for Pansy's needed potions, but he had also taken the chance to stock up with ingredients for the underground labs. Harry and Hermione were getting ready for the civil war that was sure to break out soon. They both feared that Dumbledore might throw his lot in with Voldemort and provide him with valuable information for planning attacks. Their first attacks would surely be to take out the Muggleborns and their families, and so Hermione had taken this into account and planned for it. The family of each Muggleborn student had been given a one way Portkey- powerful enough to breach the wards of Hogwarts. It would take them to the corridor outside Myrtle's toilet and then go down into the spaces under it. Secured and encrypted floo connections were being installed so that the Ministry could evacuate and continue to run the country as best as it could.

"Sun is setting rather lovely this evening" Hermione said, cuddling up to Harry even more as she did so.

"I would agree with you, Mione" Harry said with a frown, "However the better sight is of you in my arms" and his girlfriend giggled.

"I didn't think you had a romantic bone in your body" she said.

"Indeed I do" Harry replied seriously. "I think that it is located under my right kneecap" he added with a joke. He fished into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "Boat, stop" and the little wooden boat came to a halt in the middle of the lake.

"Harry…?"

"Hermione Jane Granger, you have been my trusted right arm for many years now. You have been by my side in battle, you have helped me to discover things I needed to know in order to survive… I don't know what the future will bring for me, but I would like to face it with you…" he got down on one knee, opened the box and looked into Hermione's widened chocolate eyes. "Hermione Jane Granger, will you marry me?" he asked.

"Yes!" Hermione squeaked like a mouse being stood on. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes…" and Harry slipped the ring on her finger before she hugged and kissed him. "When did you get the ring?" she asked him.

"After I left your parents" Harry said. "While I was waiting for thing to be sorted, I made a quick trip over there. I went to ask your parents' permission to marry you. I thought it would show how much I respected you if I asked them for their daughter's hand in marriage" and Hermione went in for more then just some kisses.

# # # # #

"ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF! WE HAVE LIFTOFF!" Fred Weasley said. Harry had him and his twin at Hogwarts to set up a number of jinxes to defend the castle. He was joined by his twin, Dean, Lavender and Parvati in the Astronomy tower to use the telescopes so they could spy on the couple as they went on the ride.

"May I ask what you are doing?" McGonagall said. She had traced the use of the spell to the classroom, and was not expecting to see several of her current and former pupils gathered round in a spying operation.

"Harry just proposed to Hermione, and she accepted" Parvati said.

"I see. However, you should still not be invading their privacy on such a moment"

"And now they are having sex" Dean said, still looking through the telescope at the little boat.

"They are?" McGonagall said with surprise. "Have you got a 'scope free?" she asked them.

# # # # #

"Thanks for seeing me" said Pansy the following day.

"I had to thank you for stepping in front of the spell Lucy cast" Harry said. He was drinking from some coffee after a night spent out in the boat with his fiancé. They had both come back early that morning to find their year mates waiting up for them. Harry might just have been able to convince them that he and Hermione had not had sex that night had Hermione not come in with a slight limp in her stride.

"I got a letter from my mother this morning" Pansy held it out for Harry to read. "She says that the wedding is in three days time, and that I will most likely not be coming back here afterwards" and Harry looked through the letter several times.

"I take it that you still wish to not go through with this?" he asked, handing it back.

"Maybe if I wanted to be with an older guy, then it would be on my own terms and with somebody I trusted" Pansy said. "But if my mother uses family magic to make me go through with this, then it'll be nothing more then legalised rape" and Harry nodded carefully.

"We'll just have to see what we can do about that" he said. "Madam Pomfrey has decanted a couple of vials for you to take away with you. I suggest that you go back to your dorm and rest in your own bed. I'll ask Madam Bones for two Aurors to stand guard at the entrance to Slytherin if you feel worried still" Harry offered, but Pansy shook her head.

"I don't think that anyone connected with Lucius Malfoy will come for me, but it is my mother that I am afraid of. She can come here, take me out of school and marry me off" she said.

"In that case, I'll tell her to bugger off and leave you alone. There are a lot of things that I am going to change in the Wizarding world, and that'll be one of them" Harry said. "I need somebody who knows nearly all of the old Pureblood laws very well. Hermione does, and so does Daphne, but I need a third person. Want the job?"

"Why not?" Pansy shook Harry's offered hand, "It'll be a fun ride anyhow…


	10. Secrets and Hunts

**Secrets and Hunts**

Pansy was as good as her word, and was soon helping Daphne and Hermione to go through the hundreds of documents seized by the Ministry. A few days after she started, an elf appeared during class to announce a woman wishing to speak to her most urgently. Under Dumbledore's rule, the elves stayed out of business unless called upon. Harry had called a meeting of them all when he had taken over to give them new instructions. An elf now sat at the doors to the castle with a list of all those supposed to be meeting Harry or the staff. If a person was not on the list, then they would be refused entry until they had one. They had standing orders, however, to let the Aurors, Madam Bones and Fudge in without question. The woman in question had arrived and informed the elf that she understood of the rules, but something had occurred that had given her no time to make an appointment with either Charity or Bubbles. Both of the young Goblins had been appointed as secretaries to Harry and the staff. Any entries made in the appointments book were copied to the list and adjusted accordingly.

"Ah, Pansy…" said the woman. "You are to pack your clothes and all of your other possessions at once. You are to be married in the morning to Lord Carrow"

"But I don't want to marry him" Pansy protested.

"You have no choice" the woman said. "As your mother, I am ordering you to do so by means of family magic… and this" Pansy's mother cast a quick _Imperio_ on her daughter so she complied.

#

"Miss Greengrass!" McGonagall protested as Daphne barged into her classroom one lesson. "I assume you have a good reason for coming in here without knocking"

"Sorry, Professor" Daphne said. "I just passed Pansy going to the entrance hall with her trunk floating behind her. I asked what she was doing, and she said her mother had commanded her to marry that Carrow bloke"

"Excuse me" Harry said to McGonagall. He got up from his place and then followed the Slytherin out of the room and ran along the corridor.

#

"Oh yes" Mrs Parkinson said. A strong golden light emanated from Pansy's womb. "You are both a virgin and at your most fertile for the month. You will be most perfect for your marriage to Lord Carrow"

"Yes, Mother" Pansy said woodenly.

"You will have no need for an education any more. Lord Carrow will use you as he wills in order to create his offspring. I shall take you home to be shaved around the vagina as Lord Carrow demands"

"Yes, Mother"

"Release Pansy at once" Harry said, wand out and advancing on the pair.

"This is a family matter, Potter" Mrs Parkinson said. "You would do well to stay out of this"

"Family business?" Harry put on a frown. "I heard you talking about selling your daughter for profit. I know exactly what will happen to her tonight, and I don't think that is going to happen. She is under the protection of the House of Potter and of Hogwarts. As both head of the family and the Headmaster of this school, I order you to release her from your agreement at once" he came to halt a few dozen feet from the pair.

"You do not know what you are messing with, boy" Mrs Parkinson spat at Harry. "You have no right to interfere with things that involve your betters"

"I have every right to interfere when it involves rape" he replied. "Pansy has expressed a desire not to marry Lord Carrow. She doesn't want to be used as a baby making machine, and neither does she want to be whored around the Death Eaters whom you and Lord Carrow are members of"

"You think that you could take me on?"

"Yes"

"You and whose army?"

"No army" Harry replied. "Just me"

"Fine then…" Mrs Parkinson said, and waved her wand several times. Pansy was released from the spell and thrown backwards into a stone wall. As Harry dealt with her injuries first of all, Pansy's mother cast another spell that took everything that was bought with her and her husband's money. This included the clothes that Pansy was wearing, and within seconds she was completely naked. "Keep the slut if want, Potter. I'm only too sure that she'll spread her legs for you" and with that the elf that was with her apperated them both away.

"Dobby!" Harry called.

"Yes, Master Harry Potter?" Dobby appeared out of thin air.

"I need you to get one of my cloaks. The long winter one should do please" Harry said. While the elf popped away, Harry awoke the knocked out girl and helped her to sit up. Pansy had gasped in horror and put one leg over the other and put her arms over her chest.

"Where's my mother?" asked the girl.

"We had a bit of a argument, and I don't think she'll be wanting you again" Harry said as Dobby returned with his long winter cloak. "Thank you Dobby. Would you mind taking us both to the hospital wing please?" and the elf took them there at once.

"Mr Potter, Miss…" Pomfrey frowned as she found that she could not say Pansy's surname.

"She's taken my name away" Pansy said with a horrified expression.

"By the power of Greyskull" Harry exclaimed – gaining confused looks from both the others. "Right, well Miss Parkinson here needs a quick look over, Poppy. She got slammed into a wall"

"Very well, Headmaster" Pomfrey said. "May I ask why Miss… your friend is wearing your winter cloak?"

"Basically, her mother has taken back everything that was got with her money. This seemingly included Pansy's clothing and other items" Harry replied.

"I'll have to leave Hogwarts…" Pansy went into a sudden panic at the thought. "I don't have any money for books, supplies… I don't even have any clothes"

"You look better in that cloak then I do" Harry said with a smile. "You just get seen to, Pansy, and we'll come up with something later"

"Why are you helping me?" asked the Slytherin through tears that now ran down her face.

"I told you Pansy, that you are now my friend. Friends help each other out when another is in trouble" Harry gave her a comforting hug before leaving her in the care of Pomfrey. He called for Dobby and asked him to have Hermione, Daphne, McGonagall and Griphook meet him in the Headmaster's office in a few minutes.

#

Harry had been able to calm his anger before the others gathered in the office. He couldn't believe how casually Pansy's mother had been in discarding her own daughter. Then again, he thought bitterly, the Dursleys would have done the same long ago to him.

"What would you like to discuss with us, Headmaster?" McGonagall asked, taking her seat as she spoke.

"I don't know how much you know of, but Pansy Parkinson has been disowned from her house, and everything that was owned by her taken back" Harry began. Daphne went wide eyed and gasped as he knew she would. Being a member of a Pureblood family, the disownment from one's family was the ultimate punishment, the girl knew.

"Is she alright?" asked the Slytherin.

"A little histerical, and a little bit afraid of what is going to happen to her" Harry replied. "She got slammed into a wall after being released from an _Imperio_, but Pomfrey will take care of anything. What we need to do is sort out stuff for Pansy to have"

"She will need clothing, make up, personal things, school robes, footwear, supplies… all sorts of items" Hermione said.

"That will cost money" Griphook said.

"Almost everything does" Harry replied dryly. "Daphne, what Pansy needs right now is a friend. Tomorrow, take her to Diagon Alley and get her everything she wants. Griphook, I'd like you to give them one of those pouches, please. Professor, get hold of Olivander and ask him to come here tonight if possible. Also, please send a message to the Ministry asking for Aurors to come here. Pansy has to be interviewed. Hermione, would you mind please looking up the laws pertaining placing somebody under the protection of a Head of House? I want to get everything formal before sinister things start to happen"

"I'll loan her some of my things for tonight and tomorrow" Daphne said.

"Thank you, Daph" Harry said. "Let me know what the mood is like in Slytherin once the news gets around" and the girl nodded.

"I'll make sure of it" she said.

#

"Mr Potter, you wished to see me?" Fudge said an hour or so later.

"I didn't actually ask for you, Minister" Harry frowned. "However… Pansy Parkinson has been cast out from her family"

"I see"

"And, not only that, she has lost her name" Harry said.

"Then how come you can say Miss… name?" Fudge asked. The old family magic stopped him from saying Pansy's former surname.

"Dunno" Harry shrugged, "Maybe magic is scared of me. Pansy was put under an _Imperio_ after telling her mother she didn't want to marry some guy called Carrow. At the very-"

"Excuse me for interrupting you, but did you say Carrow?" Fudge asked.

"Yeah"

"Mr Potter…"

"Harry, please…"

"Harry" Fudge smiled slightly, "What you do not know is that the Carrow family have been moving a lot of money around, and are acting as agents for Lucius Malfoy whilst he is detained at Azkaban. Madam Bones and myself believe that they are putting their assets into touchable coinage for an upcoming event"

"Like a war" Harry said grimly. "You have to pay the followers, and you have to give tribute to your Master"

"We also know that Lord Carrow paid the Parkinson family the sum of six hundred thousand Galleons. I got an urgent note before coming here that the money was returned in full" Fudge said.

"How?"

"That Goblin who used to work under Griphook" Fudge chuckled. "Seems he has had enough of all the corruption going on, and has turned into a sort of spy"

"Huh" Harry grunted a reply. "How soon could you get an arrest warrant?" he asked.

"An hour" Fudge replied. "Maybe two. Who do you want them for?" he asked.

"Both of the Parkinsons" Harry said. "And you might as well get that Carrow bloke in as well" he said.

"That will be a problem" Fudge said.

"How so?" Harry wondered.

"Any attempt on arresting any of them will be blocked by the Chief Warlock" and Harry swore slowly and with feeling.

"Well you can certainly get the Parkinsons arrested and questioned" he said. "Pansy was being forced to do things against her will. Add to that fact Mrs Parkinson was using one of the Unforgivables, and you've got her. I am sure that she told her husband, and he agreed to that - making him guilty of conspiracy…" Harry shook his head and smiled. "Sorry" he apologised, "I think I'm overstepping my authority there" but Fudge waved him off.

"It should have been stopped years ago" Fudge said, "But the old families got together, for the most part, and blocked the changes. If you could get over half of the families to side with you, there would be problem in turning the law out. Going back to the matter at hand… your friend will need a place to live" he said.

"I rather think that Daphne and her family will take her in" Harry said.

"With her parent's under arrest, what do we do about her sister?" Fudge asked.

"_What sister?_" Harry's eyes narrowed.

#

Mr Parkinson was sat in his study drinking a fine Firewhiskey when the fireplace flared up. He assumed it was a fellow Death Eater or a business contact of some kind, and he was therefore surprised when Harry came out followed by Hermione, Madam Bones, three Aurors, Pansy and Daphne.

"YOU!" he pointed at his former daughter. "GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE THIS INSTANT!" he shouted. "YOU HAVE BROUGHT THIS FAMILY INTO DISGRACE, AND I CAST YOU OUT OF THE HOME FOR GOOD"

"Michael Parkinson, you are hereby charged with Conspiracy to Use Unforgivables" Madam Bones said. "You will hand over your wand" but Parkinson tried to cast a spell on Pansy – only to have Harry's wand jammed painfully into his jaw.

"Drop the wand" and the stick fell out of his fingers and to the floor. "That's a good boy" and he picked it up and broke the wand with a loud snapping noise over his knee. Everyone in the room knew that Harry had just committed an offence himself by snapping another's wand.

"Do you realise what you have just done?" asked Madam Bones.

"Yes" Harry replied. "And it felt damned good as well" he looked at Pansy. "Where would your sister be?"

"Either in the library or her bedroom" Pansy said.

"Let's go there" said Harry. The teens headed out and left the Aurors and Madam Bones to deal with Mr Parkinson.

#

The place was more of a manor then a house, and they climbed the long and winding staircase to the upper floors. They went along the third floor landing and stopped in front of a heavy wooden door.

"There's a lot of wards around the door" said Daphne. "I remember being told that once"

"I can't tell if they are active or not" Pansy said. Hermione cast a few detection charms and found them to be on an idling mode.

"After you…" Harry opened the door and moved to let Pansy in first.

"Fliss?" Pansy looked around the room carefully.

"Panny!" a little girl came rushing into Pansy's arms. "Mummy and Daddy said you couldn't come home again. Have you been a bad girl?"

"Yes, but I've been punished already for it" Pansy glanced at the others.

"Yes…" Harry said.

"Bad" Hermione added.

"A very bad, bad, bad, bad girl indeed" Daphne said and Fliss giggled.

"They are funny, Panny" she said. "You are funnierest Daffy Duck"

"I should hope so" Harry said. "Spent enough time at Clown Academy"

"_Daffy Duck?_" Hermione whispered.

"_Not a word, Granger… Not a damned word_"

"Listen, Fliss, Mummy and Daddy have been very bad and naughty people" Pansy said. "They might have to go to jail for a while"

"Do I have to go with them as well?" asked Fliss.

"No you don't, sweetie" Harry said with a smile. "Now you look very grown up, but we'd all get into trouble if you were left here on your own. So… would you like to come and stay with your sister?"

"I get to go to grown up school?" Fliss asked.

"Not to be in the lessons" Hermione said. "But you'd have to have all of your normal lessons" she added.

"And I get to stay with Panny?"

"What do you think, Harry?" Pansy asked.

"Hmm…" Harry sighed. "I don't know… I just don't know. Do you think she might be trouble?" he asked Daphne.

"She looks as if she might be" the girl agreed.

"I can be good!" Fliss burst out, and she sat up straighter as if to prove it.

"Okay then… But if you are naughty, we'll turn you into a frog or something" Harry laughed.

# # # # #

"Right then" Madam Bones said to all of her Aurors. "We have a 1ft 2in rabbit on the loose. According to information we have been given, it is holding a woman named Mrs Twinkle as a possible hostage. Records have no knowledge of such a witch, but they are checking known squibs as we speak"

"What else do we know?" asked a Senior Auror.

"We believe that the creature has the ability to remain hidden in plain sight" Bones said.

"Natural confusion abilities?" asked another.

"That is what we think" Bones said. "I have also been informed that this creature is incredibly stealth like, and likes to throw things or attack you with its paws. DMC has nothing like it on file, but you can assume that it is very hostile so don't do anything sudden – remember that it has a hostage" Bones looked at her Aurors. "Dismiss"

#

_**MINISTRY TELLS OF NEW TERROR**_

_**#**_

_**DANGEROUS CREATURE RUNS WILD**_

_**#**_

_**SQUIB TAKEN AS HOSTAGE**_

_**#**_

_**THONGS PULLED UP AS KNICKERS TAKEN DOWN**_

"They have looked all over the country for those two" Harry said, putting the paper on the table.

"How hard can it be for the Ministry to find a rabbit holding a squib hostage" Hermione shook her head. Pansy was walking past with her sister and Daphne, and the two Parkinsons seemed to be having a little bit of an argument.

"What seems to be the trouble?" asked McGonagall.

"Fliss is just upset that she can not find some of her stuffed toys" Pansy replied.

"What do they look like?" asked Harry. "We'll round up the ghosts and have them search the castle from top to bottom"

"People are already looking for them" said Fliss matter of factly.

"I think I will award them some house points" Harry said.

"Nobody at the school is looking for them" Fliss said, then filled her mouth full of toast and jam.

"Then who is finding them? What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked, seeing Harry fall out of his chair with laughter. Most of the staff were cracking smiles or openly laughing too.

"Ha ha ha… Dob… ha ha ha" Harry had tears running down his face from laughing so hard. "Dobby…!" he managed to get out. The elf appeared and was confused why Harry was laughing so much.

"Master Harry called Dobby?"

"Would you… ha ha ha… oh Jesus Christ… ha ha ha… get ha ha ha… Madam Bones here?" Harry was completely uncontrollable.

"But get a Calming Draught from the Hospital Wing first and bring it here, thank you" Hermione said. "Now then" she said after Harry was more or less calm, "What exactly is going on here?"

#

"Mr Potter, as much as I know we have things to do, I have a massive search to carry out" Bones said as she met with Harry, Hermione, Pansy and Fliss in the Headmaster's office half an hour later.

"You can call off the search" Harry said. The Calming Draught had taken the laughing fit down to a mere belly laugh. "There has been a huge misunderstanding"

"What do you mean?" the Director of the DMLE asked.

"It seems that my sister sent the letter in that started this whole search" Pansy said.

"She did?"

"I was only doing what Pansy and Mummy and Daddy told me to do" Fliss said in a grown up voice. "They told me that if I knew of missing people, then I had to tell the Aurors about it at once. I tried to use a floo, but I didn't know where to go, so I wrote a letter instead and asked one of those nice Owls to take it to the Aurors" she went on.

"You know and started the search?" Bones was a little confused.

"Trust me" Hermione said, "When I say you'll be needing a drink after hearing Fliss's tale"

"When we got here, I couldn't find Mr Bunny and Mrs Twinkle. I looked in all the trunks, but I just couldn't find them at all" Fliss said. "So after I couldn't use the floo, I wrote a letter to the Aurors. I hoped they could find them"

"The rabbit is called Mr Bunny?" Bones was getting more confused by the second. "It has gone off with a Mrs Twinkle? Are they having an affair?"

"Madam Bones…" Pansy took a breath, "The search you have expanded time, effort and money on has been for two of Fliss's missing stuffed toys" and this was followed by a long silence in the office, and tumbleweed skittered through and past them all.

_Thump_

"Mr Potter, I'd like a double" Madam Bones said. She was banging her head on the desk and pointing towards the decanters of Firewhiskey. Harry poured out the requested measurement and the witch downed it in one. "If you will excuse me" she said as she opened the door, I must return to the Ministry at once". Just as the door closed, the remaining four in the room heard her mutter. "I'm getting too old for this shit"

#

To Fliss's great joy, the two were found after slipping under the bed. Nobody seemed to mind the great expense that had been incurred by the hunt for the missing toys. Fudge, however, had to go to the Prime Minister and the Queen to explain that the search was all a grave misunderstanding. Worse still was Fudge having to call another session of the ICW to explain it all as he had, with good intentions, told them of a dangerous creature on the run with a hostage. All of the papers dedicated the front of their next morning editions to printing Fliss's letter to the Aurors.

_Dear Nice Auror People,_

_I want to tell you about two missing people. One is a rabbit about a foot tall, and it is holding a person called Mrs Twinkle. The rabbit can hide while in plain view, and it likes to throw things and attack people when frightened – so be very careful when you find them both_

_Yours Sincerely_

_Fliss_

_Age 8_

The thing did not go and finish just then, as Madam Bones played along and told Fliss that several Aurors who found her missing toys were to be decorated. All of the DMLE had been told the true nature about the search, and they were more then happy to go with the flow. The three Aurors sat talking to Fliss for an hour in the suite of rooms she shared with her sister.

"Oh wait a minute" the girl said suddenly. "Dobby!" and the elf appeared.

"Little Miss wants something?" Dobby had been asked by Harry to respond to any calls that Fliss made to him.

"I want some wallpaper and some paste" the girl said.

"At once" Dobby said – dubious about the request. He had a bad feeling about this, but he had his instructions. As soon as he came back with the items plus a large brush, Fliss started flinging it at the Aurors.

"Cut that out!" cried one.

"Stop them, Dobby" and Fliss watched as Dobby stunned the three. "Thank you" and then resumed her work – humming a little tune as she went along.

#

"_ARGGGGGGGH!_" the screaming was heard all over the castle. Because of the high pitch, passing students thought it was Fliss and stormed the room – then stepped back and sent for Harry, Pansy, McGonagall and Madam Bones once more.

"What have you done?" shrieked Pansy – going red in the face with a mixture of fury and embarrassment. All three of the Aurors now wore wall paper over their uniform robes with the excess paste in great splotches or in puddles on the floor. They had also been subjected to very bad hair cuts and all three – male – Aurors wore heavy eye shadow, eyeliner, foundation and lipstick all over their faces. Harry's first reaction was to assume that somebody had started a Rocky Horror club at Hogwarts.

"I did what Madam Bones told me I could do" Fliss said, tears forming in her eyes and running down her tiny face.

"To turn them into drag queens?" McGonagall asked.

"She said I could decorate them, so that is just what I did" the girl said, then flung herself into the back of her sister and attempted to hide from the Aurors.

"Mr Potter? I would like to request that you keep Fred and George Weasley away from this girl. A buffer zone of at least nine thousand miles should just do the trick" Bones shook her head. She knew that the winds of change were blowing harder now, but a whirlwind in the form of an 8 year old girl seemed to be moving in.

"Would you agree that she has been naughty?" Harry asked.

"I would say so!" spat one of the Aurors. He took a step forwards and then slid to the floor in a puddle of paste. "I'm going to kill her!" he moaned.

"Oh oh" Fliss exclaimed and ran out of the room at high speed with her sister following. Everybody found it funny as the entire magical community was living in a state of fear regarding Voldemort. Harry had it on good authority that the Dementors had been heard to chuckle after reading about what Fliss had done.

#

The long awaited duel took place, and both Harry and Lupin had carried out checks for a hidden eight year old girl with wallpaper paste in the class room.

"Good Morning" Lupin said as his class filed in. "The Headmaster has kindly agreed to take part in a duel to show you what actual combat is like" he cast shields around his class while Harry took a deep breath and collected his thoughts. He wondered what Lupin had in store for the demonstration.

"Ready" he called.

"_To die?_" Lupin muttered under his breath. "Begin!" he said loudly, and simulated Death Eaters appeared in a flash of light. Harry's first reaction was to bring up a shield followed by stunning one of them.

"_Nice_" Harry thought. A simulated Killing Curse flew through the shield and hit the wall behind Harry – causing him to drop and roll. He came to a kneel and fired off a couple of quick stunners which were to put them off and unskittle their attacks more then anything else. He had to admit that this was very realistic indeed. He created a stone wall that took a few impacts – long enough to catch his breath. Just as the wall broke, Harry's vision was clouded by completed darkness. This was not part of the planned fight, but perhaps Lupin merely wished to have Harry react to a sudden change in circumstances. He listened closely as he heard footsteps coming towards his position, and suddenly screamed as something hit him in the face. Whatever it was had splattered all over and was burning his eyes. Closing them made no difference to his pain, but he heard nothing from Lupin about stopping the fight.

"_Hashvarda_" he heard from his right and then he felt nothing as he was slammed into the wall and knocked out.


	11. Blind Spot

**Blind Spot**

"I assume, Mr Evans, that you have a good reason why you have rushed into my classroom?" McGonagall said.

"Yes, Professor" said the boy.

"And what, pray tell, is it?"

"" Evans said in one go.

"Would anybody care to translate?" McGonagall shook her head.

"Harry Potter was taking part in a duel and Professor Lupin attacked him and now Harry Potter is lying in a great deal of pain. Madam Pomfrey says you have to get there right away" Evans repeated – this time more slowly and clearer.

"Very well" said the Deputy. "You might as well leave now" she told her class. "I want a three page report on the laws of Transfiguration" and with that she followed Evans out of the classroom. "Is he badly hurt?" the woman asked him.

"GET OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY!" came a high pitched yell, and the pair only just moved to the corridor side as a blur in the shape of Hermione Granger whizzed past them.

"Yes, Professor" Evans said. "I do believe he is" he finished dryly.

#

The two of them arrived at the classroom to find Pomfrey attending to a clearly wounded Harry. Hermione on her knees and holding his hand as she muttered things to try and soothe his blood curdling yells. Lupin, meanwhile, was tied up after clearly being punched by the class. They had relieved him of his wand and formed a semi-circle to guard him.

"Evans, go to Professor Flitwick at once and tell him what has happened. Ask him to contact the DMLE and get them to send some Aurors at once. The moment you know what is happening, run back here at once" McGonagall said.

"Yes, Professor" the boy got as far as the door before she called him back. "Yes?"

"If you see that mouldy old goat, tell him where to go" McGonagall said.

"YES, PROFESSOR!" Evans said gleefully, then ran off for the tiny Charms teacher.

"How is he?" asked McGonagall, moving over to stand over the pain racked Harry.

"I can't be certain" said Pomfrey. "He has multiple broken bones, all of his limbs are broken or damaged, he has a slight skull fracture and just look at his face…" the nurse pointed. It looked as if somebody had poured an acidic potion over Harry's face. His hands were affected where they had the potion on them. A few bits of twinkling light told McGonagall where the glass had hit him.

"But you can fix him, right"? Hermione said, tears running down her face from the pain of seeing Harry injured.

"Miss Granger, I haven't any idea what potion was used to assault him!" the Nurse said. The sound of a small army arriving heralded the Aurors turning up with Flitwick and Evans.

"Remus Jonathon Lupin, you are arrested for the assault of Harry James Potter" the lead Auror said. Meanwhile, Pomfrey had given Harry a pain relieving potion that reduced the pain by a microscopic amount.

"We have to get him to the hospital wing" she said.

"Oh god… please help him…" Hermione sobbed.

"We might be needing him" the nurse muttered. She conjured a stretcher which Harry was placed on before being levitated into the air.

"Mi…" Harry said.

"I'm right here, Harry…" Hermione said, squeezing his hand.

"Lupin"

"I know, I know"

"Take me to him" Harry said, though the effort to do so was clearly visible on his face.

"The Hospital Wing is where we will be taking you" Pomfrey said.

"Head… take me"

"That boy is going to kill himself or me one of these days" Pomfrey said. Instead of being a pupil, Harry had given her a direct order in the form of Headmaster. They floated him over to where the Aurors moved out of the way.

"You deserve everything you get" Lupin spat out. Harry, and with surprising accuracy for someone with no sight, kicked out and slammed his left foot directly into Lupin's groin.

"You're fired" and then passed out.

"You know" McGonagall said, "This is his most co-operative state" and Hermione spun round and raised her hand as if to strike.

"No… it isn't worth it" she decided, then hurried to follow Harry as he was floating out of the room.

#

Hermione remained by Harry's bedside all the rest of the day. She wondered why he was the receiver of so much pain. The girl knew that she could never have survived after so much abuse to her body. Harry, it seemed, always took the pain and kept on coming. Hermione liked to think of him as an old Battleship that could take incredible damage and still deliver the knock out blow. Even with his whole body injured in one way or another, Harry had blocked the pain long enough to give Lupin a defiant kick in the balls and formally sack him. Harry's tortured screams caused her to start and the hushing seemed to have no effect.

"Its happening again" Hermione called.

"It is the right time" said Pomfrey as she came over with a small glass. "I have just finished the potion" she added. Harry was in so much pain that none of the standard potions worked at all. Hermione gave permission to Pomfrey to administer the Draught of Living Death to Harry. They had hopes that it would knock him out so much that his body would get the start it needed for recovery. "Miss Granger, I will be frank with you. Mr POtter is in a great deal of pain from whatever it is that that bastard mutt threw at him, but nothing in any of my medical texts gives me a clue. I have contacted St Mungos, and they agree that he should be moved there as soon as possible"

"Is that the real and complete truth?"

"I am afraid it is" Pomfrey replied, "But there is far worse as well"

"Is he going to die?" Hermione started working back up the panic ladder.

"I dont know yet" the nurse replied. "During my examination scans of Mr Potter after we got him here, i noticed something odd that concerned me. I went back and did another check and it appears that Mr Potter has been blinded"

"_WHAT?_" Hermione shrieked.

"His eyeballs are still there, but the optic nerve has been eaten away by whatever potion was used. Once he is at St Mungos, the staff there will be able to find out what it was. I can only do so much"

"Can they repair his eyes?" Hermione asked as she looked at the deep sleeping Harry.

"Maybe"

"That's not good enough, damn it! Not good enough!"

"Its the best that I can do, Miss Granger. Now then, it is the opinion of the Healers at St Mungos that Harry not have any contact from yourself for a day. Given how powerful his magic is, we don't want an emotional outburst that could kill him"

"I can't leave him" Hermione said.

"If you go from here now, who will be the one who works out what happened?" Pomfrey said. "The Aurors will question each and every person in the class about what they saw, but the students might well open up to you more"

# # # # #

"Have you seen those that were in his class?" asked McGonagall.

"Not since the Aurors took Lupin away" Flitwick replied. McGonagall had noticed the spaces left by the twenty odd students at dinner that evening.

"Do you think they were kidnapped to stop them from talking?" asked Sprout.

"Oh my!" squeaked Flitwick, and he nearly fell off his chair in shock. "Should we call the Aurors back here?" he asked.

"We shouldn't dismiss that idea" Babbage said from her position down the table.

"Well of course we shouldn't dis…" McGonagall broke off and groaned as she realised where the missing students were.

#

"I must apologise to you all" McGonagall said to the group. They had been told to not leave the classroom after a lesson until told to do so by a teacher. As Lupin had been sacked – in more ways then one – he had no authority to give orders to them. With everything centred on Harry, the Professors had forgotten to dismiss the class after things had calmed down. As it had happened, some of them had sweets in their school bags, and had grouped them together and then shared them all out. But they were still very hungry indeed, and McGonagall arranged for a longer sitting then normal at dinner to allow them to have something. She also awarded ten house points each for punctilious rule observing.

#

When Fudge heard of the attack on Harry, he took no chances and ordered a round the clock guard mounted on his room. A pair stood on either side of the door in full battle gear. Two more Aurors guarded the entrances to the floor, and a full squad had taken over a large meeting room two floors up to act as a break room. Every Healer and visitor coming in and out had to be examined with the Triluminum – a device that could tell the truth without a doubt. As an added insurance measure, non Healers were asked to surrender their wands which could be collected on the way out.

"What's in that chest?" asked an Auror. The Healer opened it for the Aurors inspection whilst his partner had her wand ready for instant use. Several powerful potions were inside, and the Auror checked each one off against a list of those used at St Mungos.

"Do we have to go through this every single time we give Mr Potter more treatment?" the Healer asked as he closed the chest again.

"Orders of the Minister" the Auror said firmly.

"And what if he suddenly takes a bad turn and he needs stuff in a hurry?"

"That would be different" and he opened the door and followed the Healer inside whilst his partner moved to stand in the path of anybody else wishing to come in. The Healer worked on examining Harry, and then administering a few of the potions he had brought with him.

"This is annoying" he said after a while.

"Something the matter?" asked the Auror.

"According to these scans, his optic nerves are not regrowing" the Healer said. "Madam Pomfrey washed his eyes out when he was still at Hogwarts, and we've done it twice since then. None of the potions or salves that we have given him seem to be working at all"

"What does that mean?"

"It means" the Healer said with a dark tone, "That Mr Potter may well be blind for the rest of his life"

"Are you certain?"

"Does the Pope shit in the woods?" and the Auror just shook his head and went to resume his post.

#

Madam Bones was meeting with Fudge in his office, and she had a great deal to tell him after Lupin's interrogation. A court order had been obtained giving the DMLE permission to use _Veritaserum_ despite Lupin saying he had done nothing wrong at all. In the application, Bones had said that there was a serious threat to public safety if Lupin was connected to any dark groups. They also needed to know what he had done to Harry in order to treat his injuries.

"What do you have, Amelia?" asked Fudge.

"Back pain and a slight stomach upset" she replied.

"I was referring to the attack on Harry Potter" Fudge rolled his eyes.

"Ah, yes…" Bones opened a file and handed Fudge a number of pages of parchment that made up Lupin's drugged revelations. "It seems that Lupin was working for Albus Dumbledore all this time. According to what he told us, there were several things he had to do such as finding out what frequency the wards operate on around the school"

"What are they?"

"4625Khz" Bones replied. "Once he had found that out, he was to kill Harry in a simulated duel and make it look like an accident"

"We need to find Dumbledore and stop him once and for all" said Fudge. "Let all of your Aurors know, and I'll get on to the ICW" he added. "You can only guess what Dumbledore has been doing to his students all that time" and Bones agreed.

"We've interviewed his brother as a matter of routine, but Abberforth rarely speaks to his brother. He hasn't spoken to him since before Albus was removed as Headmaster by the Castle" Bones said.

"Were you able to get the name of the potion he threw at Mr Potter?"

"We tried several times, but Lupin became very… odd" Bones said. "He kept jerking around as if the name was protected by some very powerful secrecy spell of some sort"

"As Uncle Lewis would say, this gets curiouser and curiouser" Fudge said with a shake of his head. "Have a search made for Dumbledore and have him arrested on charges of complicity in attempted murder. I am going to the Wizangamot and the ICW as soon as possible in order to get him stripped of all of his titles. It is clear that there are grounds for that"

# # # # #

"You will have to surrender your wand" said the Auror. "You can get it when you leave" he added.

"Oh please…" Hermione snorted in disbelief. "Have you any idea who I am?"

"No"

"Hermione Granger" she replied. "I took on Death Eaters twice already, and I think I can deal with you. Now move aside, or I shall make you serve as a deckhand on a submarine!" and with that, Hermione shouldered her way past the guard. "_Idiot_" she grumbled. It had been a week since the attack on Harry, and they had managed to remove the majority of the pain from him. All that remained was a shooting pain up both of his legs, and a slowly healing back ache. He could move around on the bed, but not get up and walk – though his legs were moved three times a day to ensure they didn't get stiff, sore or weak. He was still blind, of course, but the Healers hoped to have something soon.

"Who's that?" asked Harry.

"Hermione" the girl said, closing the door behind her. The first time she had visited Harry, an Auror had come in as well. When she had refused to leave in order to give them privacy, Harry pointed a hand in the general direction of the Auror and sent a few sparks that singed her cloak. His hearing had picked up a little after the blindness, and it was that which told him about where the Auror was standing roughly.

"I was wondering when you would come" Harry said, pushing himself up slightly on the bed.

"Beware of Romulans bearing gifts!" his girlfriend said. "I was delayed by Fliss and what seemed to be most of the first years. They've made you all cards and things like that. The Ravenclaws got together and made a card that sings. Luna did that little bit for them though" she put the cards on the bedside table.

"I'm much happier seeing you" Harry said. "Well when I say see, I mean…"

"I know exactly what you mean, Harry" Hermione giggled and sat next to the bed. "Everybody misses you, of course, and Dean and Seamus are planning some kind of party when you get out"

"That'll be nice"

"Yes. There is one strange thing, though" Hermione said.

"Oh?"

"You seem to be handing your homework in on time" and Harry laughed. He strongly suspected that Dean was behind that, and decided to award him house points the moment that he had set foot in Hogwarts.

"What have the Healers said about you?"

"They say I am a stubborn pain in the arse"

"I meant about your condition" Hermione rolled her eyes and groaned.

"They are thinking of applying a regrowing potion directly to my eyes" Harry said. "It will regrow my nerves and all that, but I'll still have to wear glasses after I'm allowed out. I just hate being cooped up in here" he finished.

"They won't let you out?" Hermione asked as she gave a squeeze of support to the hand she held.

"For my own security" Harry replied. "I know I can't se or anything, but I just want some fresh air and feel the wind on my face"

"Maybe they could Portkey you to some place out in the country for an hour or so" Hermione said.

"Tried that one" Harry told her. "Still said there was a chance I could be found"

"How about I do something for you?" Hermione began, and cast a silent spell on the door.

"If you break out into Cherry Pie, I'm having you arrested for bad singing" and Hermione put her wand down on the bedside table.

"Apart from what I know, everything else is alright, isn't it?" she asked, letting her hand go west, and then turn and head south as she pulled down the bedcovers.

"Sure" Harry said. "Didn't you hear me say that ev- " Harry broke off as Hermione pulled down his pyjama bottoms and started a new treatment procedure of her very own.

#

Hermione left an hour later with Harry exhausted and asleep. She wasn't offended by that, and she knew that he was drained quite a bit by the attack still. At least he would have a few hours good sleep, and more then a few pleasant dreams!

"How is he?" asked the Auror that had opened the door for her.

"He's sleeping well enough" Hermione replied. An enormous smile graced her face as she turned and walked down the corridor. "_I'm walking on sunshine, oh yeah, yeah…_" she sang.

"She didn't" the other Auror said.

"I think they did" the first one replied.

#

Harry woke that evening, and fell into a dark mood. Hermione's visit had been uplifting, in more ways then one, but he still couldn't stand the smells of the Hospital. Everything was so clean and fresh, and the plan came to him in a flash of brilliance.

"Dobby?" he whispered.

"Oh Master Harry Pot-"

"Not so loud, Dobby" he hissed. "Look, Dobby, I've had just about enough of this place as I can handle in one go. Can you help me out of here?"

"Mistress Graingy said that yous had to beings in the bed for longer" Dobby said. "Harry Potter be very ill"

"I know that, Dobby" he told the elf, "But by staying here I am getting more and more ill" and Dobby frowned – forgetting Harry couldn't see.

"Why?" it asked at last.

"Getting better is helped by you being happy right?"

"Of course, Master Harry Potter"

"But I am unhappy being here, so I am more ill then better"

"If you be goings to Hogywarts, then yous be feelings better?" Dobby just contained his understanding.

"Now you get it!" Harry grinned in the direction of the far wall mirror – not that he knew of it. "I want you to clean me up, do that rather snappy dressing trick and then apperate the pair of us to the outside of the Great Hall"

"Everybody is in there" Dobby said after a moment's far awayness. After the first few times, Harry had asked Dobby what it was that he did. What Dobby was doing was tapping into the magic at Hogwarts and searching for people or items based on their magical signatures.

"Well then" Harry smiled. "You better start…" and the elf set to work. Dobby took his hand when Harry stood up. He nearly fell to the floor but set his mind to standing upright by picturing a line and trying to keep it steady.

"Dobby be taking you to Hogywarts" Dobby said, then added "_Very, very, very, very quietly_"

#

Once they had arrived, Harry fumbled for his shirt and twisted the collar so it sat on him better. The elf by his side looked from Harry to the doors to the great hall as if waiting for another instruction. It was only then that he remembered Harry was blind and couldn't see the gestures.

"Would the great Harry Potter be wanting Dobby to walk with him?" he asked.

"Thank you, Dobby" Harry smiled clean over the elf's head. "But I can do this under my own steam"

"Then Dobby may be going about his business?"

"Go on" he replied. "Off you trot…" and the elf vanished with a tiny popping noise. Harry started walking towards the doors. Although he couldn't see them, he was able to guess how close he was and wave his hand. "_Alohamora_" and they opened quietly. Almost at once he heard the noise of hundreds of people talking over dinner. It wasn't until McGonagall dropped her knife and fork that people fell silent. When they saw she wasn't suddenly sick or something, they followed her gaze.

"_That boy…_" she whispered.

"Awfully sorry, ladies and gentlemen. It appears that I am a little bit late for dinner" Harry said in the deafening silence. As he walked up the middle of the four tables, there was the sound of a chair scraping and then of somebody running to him. It didn't take a genius to guess that it was Hermione, and she just kept crying into his shoulder. Harry's hand went lower and lower until he found a good enough spot on her back to pat.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, putting her hand in his. "You're much better off at St Mungos"

"Well, Mione, it goes like this" Harry beamed at her left ear. "I went there, was told about all of the things that are going on this week and, after a while, decided that the establishment had nothing else to offer me, so I checked out"

"You should sit down" Hermione said, pulling him towards the Gryffindor tables.

"Hermione" he said, "I sit at the top table. Care to join me? I find I need a bit of help"

"But that's the Headmaster's place" Hermione said. "I can't sit there"

"You are qualified" Harry joked.

"How?"

"Going from what happened this afternoon, I'd say you are a head master" and his girlfriend went a brilliant shade of red.

"HARRY!" she hissed, put guided him to the spot he wanted to sit at.

"It is good to see you, Mr Potter" McGonagall said.

"I'd like to say the same, Professor" Harry said. "But I can't…"

"You don't have to be so rude" Hermione admonished him.

"Hey!" Harry protested lightly. "I can't see the point" he shook his head – an action that looked odd given his blindness. "Talk about blind ambition…" he muttered loudly, and the entire hall burst into laughter – he was back on the way to recovery.


	12. Muddling Through

**Muddling Through**

**A/N: Breaking my usual rule of keeping notes until the end to explain something about the last chapter. I got one review and several PM's asking why I had Harry making blind jokes. I just want to say that I was not making fun of blind persons – I have a few friends who are blind in one way or another – but simply reflecting Harry's frustration. It was his way of venting anger like people losing their lower limbs joking how they got legless and never touched a drop, or people saying that they are 'armless and no danger. No offence was intended towards anybody, but you don't have to read the fic if you were. Now then, onto the story…**

"Hermione, I can dress myself!" Harry snapped.

"Well, I…"

"Sorry, Mione" Harry apologised to her. "I just hate being so useless" and the girl understood completely.

"I know how you feel. It was the same when I had to be in hospital when I broke my leg" she said. "When we came here in our first year, I asked Madam Pomfrey if she could do anything for it – I walked with a slight limp, you know"

"I had noticed, but I was too polite to ask about it" Harry said. "So off to breakfast and then to lessons" he shook his head and muttered.

"Oh none of that for you, Harry" Hermione said.

"What do you mean?" Harry said, puzzled at the alarmed tone he had heard in his girlfriend's voice

"Well, it is a little risky for you to be using magic when you don't have any sight" she said.

"Mione, I am only blind. That doesn't make me into some sort of magical cripple" Harry protested.

"Oh well of course not" Hermione saw the look on Harry's face and quickly changed what she was going to say. "But please be reasonable" she begged him. "Walking in the hall was tiring for you, and you've only just started walking around again on your own. Why not take it easy for a few more days? Maybe you could put your mind to some other thing" she said in what she hoped was a nice tone.

"What?" Harry snorted as he fumbled around for his jumper. "Learn the piano and become the white Ray Charles? Look, Mione, when I was at St Mungo's, I overheard them talking about me. They thought I was asleep, but I liked to trick them. None of the Healers think that I will ever regain my sight" he found his jumper and tried to put it on himself.

"Let me help" Hermione moved to his side. "Maybe there is something in the magical world that can give you new eyes" but Harry sighed.

"Nothing at all – I already asked. I wish I could play Quidditch or just ride my broom, but I can't because of the blindness" he said.

"Surely it isn't that bad" Hermione said, taking his hand and helping him to the door.

"Okay, Mione, you like books right?" Harry began, and Hermione nodded. "How would you feel if you suddenly became blind, or perhaps suffered a brain injury and lost the ability to understand written words? You'd be devastated by the loss of one of your favourite activities right" he searched in front of him and got the door handle and pulled it open.

"I guess so" Hermione said quietly, helping Harry to get down the stairs. "Maybe they could fit you with something that Moody has" but knew the answer already.

"That only works because his optic nerve was still slightly intact" Harry was sounding depressed by the minute. "I have to face up to the fact that I might be blind for the rest of my life, and do you know what, Hermione?" but Hermione shook her head – forgetting for a moment that Harry couldn't see her doing so. "It scares me, Mione, it really, really scares me. If they can't do anything, then I might as well just pack it all in" and Hermione became alarmed by the chill in his last statement.

"I'm sure that they can find you something to help what you are going through" she said, turning the corner to head towards the hall doors.

"Oh, I'm sure of it" Harry mocked her. "They can paint my wand white and turn Dobby into a Seeing Elf"

"That would please him" Hermione said.

"Aye, I guess it would" Harry smiled faintly. "Mione, I'm sorry for snapping at you a minute ago, but I'm frustrated that I can't even do the most simple of tasks. Still, got a laugh last night" he added, the smile becoming much more normal.

"How?"

"I wanted the toilet, so I asked Dobby to take me to the nearest one" Harry said.

"And that was the cause of your laughter?" Hermione wondered if her boyfriend was alright.

"No" Harry chuckled, "But my sudden appearance gave Susan Bones one hell of a shock" and the pair of them laughed at the scene.

"Now that I would like to have seen" Hermione giggled.

"I'll let you see the memory later" Harry promised her. "I hope Susan is alright though. She left that cubicle so quickly, she might well have got her knickers in a real twist!" he added. Even though he was blind, and therefore unable to see Susan, Dobby had kindly allowed him to copy the memory into a Pensieve and view it in his own mind. He had to send for Professor Sprout to explain what had happened before stories got too wild. The head of Hufflepuff had accepted Harry's point that he hadn't seen anything that he shouldn't have. The pair sat down to breakfast which Harry was able to do completely normally. It was just as well that the Professor Nials had brewed some Luck Potion to put in Harry's juice. The luck Harry wanted was to eat breakfast without throwing it halfway across the hall.

"Excuse me" a voice said. A mutter from Hermione told him to turn round in his seat and tilt his head slightly upwards.

"Not meaning to be rude, but who is it?" Harry asked.

"Its Susan" the girl said, feeling creeped out that Harry's unseeing eyes appeared to be gazing at her more then ample chest. She knew that Harry was doing the best that he could under the circumstances, and that she should not be judging him for something that was not his fault.

"What can I do for you?" Harry asked.

"Can I have a word?"

"Just the one?"

"I'd like to see you in private" Susan said. Harry turned round again and assumed he was facing his girlfriend.

"I think I am going to be got at. You think I should be alone with Susan? Would mind that at all?" he asked.

"Well, Harry" said a carefully drawn out Irish brogue, "I like you as a friend, but I think our relationship should end there" Seamus said.

"You mean you don't want to kiss my blarney stones anymore?" Harry said, thinking quickly. Seamus found this so funny that he had to be carted off by Dean and Colin Creevy to the Hospital Wing for a calming draught. "I think I can slide you into my schedule, Susan. If I remember rightly, you have double Potions followed by lunch and a free period" Harry said, recalling the schedule for his year's Hufflepuffs.

"That's right" Susan confirmed.

"Well come and see me after you've had lunch" he said. "I'll be in the Headmaster's office. Lean in closer, would you?" and Susan bent down and put her head directly next to Harry's mouth. "_The password is Zordon_" he whispered.

"I won't forget" Susan assured. She thanked him and then left with Hannah to go to lessons.

"You want some help getting back?" asked Hermione.

"No need" Harry said. "I'll get Dobby to come in a few minutes" and Hermione kissed the top of his head before she left for Gryffindor tower and got her things for Double Potions.

#

"Speak" commanded Voldemort.

"My Lord" bowed a witch dressed in Healer robes. "My Lord, as you know, I have been assigned to work on creating a potion to cure Harry Potter's blindness. We created that cure this morning"

"WHAT?" thundered Voldemort. "That brat will be able to ruin our plans still"

"He won't, My Lord" the Healer said.

"Oh? How do you know this?" Voldemort asked, ready to curse the witch in front of him.

"I started a fire that _unfortunately_ was so hot it melted the cauldron the potion was in and destroyed it and the sample we had taken" the Healer said. "It will take at least a month to gather the ingredients, and then another two weeks to make it again" and the Dark Lord was pleased.

"You have done well, my loyal Death Eater" he said. "Take this as a reward, and report back to me when you know of more information. I want to know everything there is concerning our young friend" he said, throwing the Healer a bag of gold coins.

"It shall be done" the Healer bowed again and left the throne room.

"Ready the Death Eaters for a raid, Bella" Voldemort said. "It is time we let people know we have not gone into the night" he said.

"At once, My Lord" Bellatrix said, getting up from where she had been sat at Voldemort's feet.

#

"Hello? Harry, are you in?" Susan asked.

"Come in" came the shouted reply. Susan opened the door and went inside the Headmaster's office. She looked around but couldn't see Harry anywhere. "Where are you?" the girl asked.

"Through the back" Harry called. Susan went around the desk to go into the private area. She saw him lying on a lounge sofa listening to some music which she couldn't identify.

"Hey" Susan said. "You want me to turn it off?"

"Please" Harry said. "Tried to do it myself, but I crashed into the table, I think, so I gave it up" Susan noted the floor had several cups and plates in various stages of repair, and she gave them a flick of her wand as she turned the wireless off. "So… what can I do for you, Susan?" he asked, hauling himself up to a sitting position.

"I wanted to apologise in private for my reaction last night" the Hufflepuff sat down next to him. "It wasn't your fault at all, and I made things worse by running off and screaming to Professor Sprout"

"You were startled, Susan" Harry said, turning to look at what he hoped was her. When he had spoken to Dobby about what he had wanted for lunch, the elf had had to tell Harry that he had been addressing the grandfather clock for five minutes about food. "I should have been more specific about the toilet I wanted. Dobby assumed the nearest toilet, and took me there. It was just a misunderstanding"

"But half the school thinks you were trying to grope me in the cubicle" Susan said. "The teachers have all told them what really happened, minus a few details, but I want to make it up to you. Is there anything that I can do?" she asked.

"A few things spring to mind" Harry smiled, "But I'd need my sight back first! If you really want to make it up to me, then help me to get around, would you? I can't keep relying on Hermione all the time. She's going to need all of her spare time to revise for end of the year exams" he said.

"Is that it?" asked Susan.

"That is all I feel I can ask of you, Susan" Harry said. "I don't want to get you all embarrassed and stuff like that" he added.

"Harry, you don't have to worry about that" she replied. "It is the least I can do for you" and Harry smiled.

"Sometimes it is going to get a little bit personal – if you know what I mean" he said, but Susan assured him that she would help him.

"That is what friends do after all" she said. "Well, know that that is over and done with, why don't you come with me to Hufflepuff?" and Harry agreed and Susan helped him to his feet before taking his hand as they left.

"I could do with getting someplace that isn't on all the normal tourist routs" Harry said as they reached the door.

#

"You know" Harry said as Susan helped him to get down the slight slope, "I don't think I have ever been here before" and the Hufflepuff was surprised.

"Really?" she asked.

"Mmm" Harry said.

"Well, fancy that" Susan remarked. "Just keep walking slowly" she added after seeing Harry be motionless. "Are you alright?" and Harry nodded, despite being blind. Old habits die hard after all. "Don't lie, Harry. I can see that something is bothering you" and Harry sighed.

"My legs hurt" he admitted.

"Well you have been in bed for a while. You've just got to get the aches out of them – that's all" Susan said. "Now just be careful here… that's it" they stepped off the slope and down a little tunnel before entering the common room. It was empty of anybody else, and Susan guided Harry to an oversized chair with a back and wings that could have been used to go Paragliding with.

"That is better" Harry closed his eyes and his face sank into contentment.

"We don't often get visitors" said Susan.

"In Gryffindor, we often get Luna and others coming round" Harry replied tiredly. "Bloody potions" he muttered.

"Would you like some tea?" Susan asked.

"I would, as it happens" Harry said. "You want me to call Dob-" Susan hushed him as she turned her head. "What?" Harry turned his head this way and that out of pure automatic instinct.

"Others are coming" Susan said, "And I gather you'd not be the centre of attention" to which, Harry could only agree.

"Where are we going?" he asked her. Judging from the noise coming from the long tunnel, most of Hufflepuff sat in their dorms. But, Harry thought as he was being pulled along, the tunnel was very long for just a few dorms. He cursed his blindness as he crashed into Susan's back.

"In here" she said, pushing Harry through a door. "Welcome to my bedroom, Harry" Susan said grandly.

"You do know I am with Hermione, right?" Harry joked. "Is this your dorm?" he asked.

"We don't have dorms in Hufflepuff" Susan said, sitting him down in a chair. "We have little rooms coming off a couple of tunnels - I share mine with Hannah" she continued. "Its better then having a big dorm. Our common room is supposed to be as big as the other houses, but I can't say for certain if that's true or not. Normally, there are quite a few people in the common room, but the warming charms have been on and off lately. I guess people spend it in their bedrooms"

"Tell me more about these rooms" Harry asked. Apart from the one, brief, trip to the Slytherin common room, he had always been in the Gryffindor common room and no other – though he knew Ginny often went to the Ravenclaw one and vice versa.

"Well… there's two beds, two desks, two chairs, two armchairs, two chest of drawers, two wardrobes and our own shower and toilet" Susan said. "Its like one of those budget muggle rooms really" she added.

"You got a kitchen here as well?" Harry enquired.

"No. Why do you ask?"

"How would you give me a cup of tea then?"

"Me and Hannah keep a teapot and some cups in the room" Susan explained. "We got hold of one of those working miniature cauldrons that little kids use for playing Cook. We fill it with water, start the thing boiling and then make the tea when the water is ready"

"I take it you get the tea sent to you?" Harry guessed.

"We both chip in, and Hannah's mother sends it in a parcel – along with the sugar and milk" and Harry was impressed greatly.

"That thought had never come to me" he said. "I'd have gone down to the kitchen or called for an house elf" he added. Whilst Susan had been speaking, she had been moving around and picking up things here and there. "Is this alright?" Harry asked suddenly. "I mean being in here with you"

"We're allowed visitors" said Susan with a frown. "I told you that a minute ago"

"I meant having a boy in a girl's room" Harry said.

"Not normally, no…" said another voice.

"Two girls in one bedroom, and I'm fucking blind" Harry raised his fist and shook it. "DAMN YOU GOD!"

"Shut the door, Han" Susan said. "I went to apologise to Harry, and I ended up bringing him here" and Hannah shut the door before looking at Harry in thought.

"He can't see anything?" she asked.

"Nothing at all" he confirmed. "You know that, Hannah" he added. "I can go if you want" but Hannah told him to stay sitting down.

"It is really cold outside, and I've got Herbology next" she said. "I came back here to switch the skirt for the trousers. Didn't know you'd be here" Hannah said, just as Susan poured the tea out into three cups. The other Hufflepuff had conjured another for her friend.

"Oh don't mind me" Harry said. "I promise not to peep" he added with a laugh. Hannah couldn't help but laugh with Harry and Susan before getting the trousers out from her wardrobe. She bunched her robes up to her waist before reaching under them for the zip to her skirt. When he heard the noise, Harry hummed The Stripper which caused Hannah to squeak in surprise and go a bright red.

"Behave, Harry" said Susan, handing him the cup of tea. Harry had figured out that morning how to drink tea by himself, and he practiced it now as he drank. He slowly brought the cup up until the rim touched his lip. Once the rim was between both lips, he tipped the cup back ever so slightly and sipped the tea.

"You better get changed, Sue" Hannah said.

"Right" Susan agreed, and pulled down her skirt to reveal the red knickers she wore under it. If Harry hadn't been blind, he would have been having a minor coronary at the sight.

#

"Harry?" Luna was behind the door to the Headmaster's office.

"Luna? Come in" he called. Luna opened the door and went inside the office. She went into the back where Harry was sitting in a chair listening to a live Quidditch match. Both hands held the arms of the chair he was in, and the boy held his head up – looking at nothing straight ahead.

"Hi, Harry" Luna said.

"Would you mind turning it off please?" Harry asked her. "It's too depressing to listen to" he told her.

"Why?" asked the blonde as she turned the power switch to off.

"I'm never going to be able to play Quidditch again, so why bother listening to a game?" he shook his head and turned his head so he was looking at Luna's general direction. "What can I do for you?" Harry asked.

"Hermione is doing some research in the library that might help you, and she asked me to tell you that she can't make dinner" Luna replied. "I wouldn't mind having dinner with you" and Harry smiled. The girl was really someone to know.

"Thanks, Luna, but I'm not a good dinner companion at the moment" he told her. "I can't eat or drink anything without being helped in one way or another. You'd spend so much time helping me, that your meal would get cold before you had chance to eat it" but Luna said she didn't mind that much. When Harry stood up, the pain in his legs became too much for him to bear, and so she helped him to the bed which he stretched out on and then hissed at the pain that flooded his body.

"You need something to take away the pain" Luna observed.

"I'm on four different potions a day" Harry replied, eyes closed even though there was no real need. "And they've stopped working as well as they did before" and Luna was hit with a rather good idea.

"I have something that my father sent me a while ago. He says it can lessen quite bad pain. Maybe it will work for you…" she shrugged. "Would you mind if I borrowed your elf?" and Harry called for Dobby.

"Dobby is being wanted?"

"Hello, Dobby. I am Luna. Harry said its okay for you to take instructions from me. Would you mind popping to my dorm and getting the box that is at the bottom of my trunk? It is a little dark blue one" Luna said politely. Dobby looked at Harry before realising that Harry couldn't see the expectant look on his face.

"Is it being alrights for Dobby?" the elf asked.

"Sure, Dobby" Harry said, and the elf popped away to Luna's dorm. He came back a few minutes later with the box, and then went to finish whatever he was doing.

"Open your mouth a bit, Harry" Luna said, and put something wrapped in paper into Harry's parted lips. She patted her robes and pulled out a lighter, and lit the end of the item. "Take a few puffs then take it out" she instructed Harry. He did as he was told, and found that the pain was less and he felt more calm and at peace.

#

"Yes" said McGonagall. "I can smell that too" she added. Apart from herself, Pansy, Professor Sprout and Hermione stood at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the Headmaster's office and rooms.

"It smells faintly like burning herbs, but there isn't any smoke from a fire" Sprout said.

"If there was a fire, Harry would have got out by now – even blind as he is" Hermione pointed out.

"Whatever it is, it's getting stronger" Pansy said. McGonagall led the way up and opened the door. All four of them were hit by a strong sickly scent that hung in the air, and they had to clear it out before they could go any further. They discovered Harry lying asleep on the top of the bed – stretched out and with a smile on his face. Hermione quickly checked his vitals, and they read a little higher then normal, but that was not too much concern for them.

"Wake up, Harry" Hermione shook him gently by the shoulder.

"Who's there? Who is it?" Harry said. "Is that you, Luna?" he asked.

"Its Hermione, Pansy and Professors McGonagall and Sprout" said Hermione. "We smelt something funny coming from the room and thought you were in trouble" she said.

"Trouble?" Harry said lazily. "No trouble at all…" he grinned wider then a Cheshire cat.

"You look better then you did this morning" Pansy said.

"He does, doesn't he" agreed Hermione. "Maybe Madam Pomfrey's potions are working again" but Harry shook his head.

"No potions. Luna gave me a cigarette and now I feel fine" Harry giggled.

"That's not any tobacco smell I normally smell here" Sprout said, then it came to her what the sickly scent of the smoke was. "Mr Potter has been smoking cannabis" she said.

"Harry doesn't do drugs" Hermione said quickly. "Not illegal ones" she amended. The potions he was taking were classed as drugs in a broad sense.

"Mr Potter, can you tell us when you last saw Miss Lovegood?" asked McGonagall.

"He's asleep again" Sprout said. "Best thing for him" she added. "I'd better tell Poppy to get him something" and off she went.

"Miss Parkinson, please would you mind going around the school and find Miss Lovegood. Once you've found her, bring her to my office, please"

"At once, Professor" and the Slytherin left to find Luna.

"You had better stay here, Miss Granger" McGonagall said as she went for the door. "This one is going to take some explaining to him" and then left to make a floo call to Xeno Lovegood and ask if he sent the cannabis to his own daughter.


	13. A Hope Rewarded

**A Hope Rewarded**

"Ah, Miss Lovegood" McGonagall said as Luna entered the Deputy's office, "Please take a seat" and Luna sat in one of the tartan covered chairs.

"Am I in some kind of trouble, Professor?" she asked.

"That depends" McGonagall said. "Harry Potter is under the influence of a very powerful and highly illegal substance"

"Is he going to prison?" Luna asked.

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Well" Luna said, "You just said that Harry was taking some kind of drug. Drug takers and dealers go to prison" she continued.

"Miss Lovegood" McGonagall often wondered if Luna was nuts, or putting on a good act, "Mr Potter claimed that you had given him the substance. Professor Sprout has said it might be a herb known as Cannabis. Would you know anything about that?" the Professor asked.

"I only gave him a cigarette" said Luna. "Daddy told me about how he got loads of these herbs that you can either buy ready made, or otherwise in packs to make yourself. He picked them up when he went to Jamaica to interview wizards there" she went on.

"I see" McGonagall didn't really, but it was the only thing to say to Luna. "And did these wizards give your father these cigarettes?" she asked.

"Oh yes, Professor" Luna said brightly. "Daddy told me about how the Jamaican wizards told him about how they have medical properties. They can make you feel very calm, relax you, and even numb a lot of pain" she said, ticking them off on her fingers. "The rest of the girls in my dorm sometimes have one as well, and we sit on the floor and have a jolly good time"

"And he sent them to you?" McGonagall asked. "If you were in pain, why not visit Madam Pomfrey?" she wondered.

"She was busy dealing with everything that happened to Harry, Professor" Luna explained calmly. "I didn't want to distract her, and I remembered what Daddy said about the things. I have been having very painful periods recently, and that really hurts me, so I thought I'd give them a try and see what happens. Harry said he was in pain, and since boys don't get periods, as far as I know, I gave him one to smoke. He seemed to be numbed of the pain quite quickly, and even started laughing at jokes I told him" and McGonagall was of the opinion that Luna could turn even the most hardened non-drinker to get plastered from confusion.

"You gave him just one?" and Luna nodded.

"Just the one" she said.

"Thank Merlin for that" McGonagall sighed in relief.

"To keep for later, that is" Luna suddenly said. "Professor?" she put her head to one side in quizzical thought, "Why are you banging your head on the desk? Is it because you are having heavy periods as well? Would you like a cigarette too?" the Ravenclaw asked politely.

#

"Woah…" Harry groaned as he woke up late that night. "What the hell was in that?" he said.

"Luna slipped you some drugs" Hermione said, looking up from the book she was reading.

"Mione? Where are you?" he asked, opening his eyelids and looking at the ceiling with unseeing eyes.

"I'm right here, Harry" Hermione said. "That thing Luna gave you was a cannabis joint. Seems her father got conned into taking some back with him from a trip to Jamaica" and Harry laughed a little.

"Luna Lovegood – Drug Baroness" and even Hermione giggled at that. "Have a word with Professor McGonagall, would you, Mione? Tell her not to be so hard on Luna – it wasn't her fault after all. Why did she have them anyway?" he asked.

"The main reason was that Luna has been having really heavy periods that have been hurting her" Hermione said. "She told me, in private, the other reason was because she had been masturbating" and her cheeks tinged slightly red.

"But how does that hurt?" Harry asked. "She told me, strongly enough, that she still has her… well you know"

"Luna was trying something that goes in the back passage" Hermione said, feeling her cheeks get redder and redder. "While she had one of those butt plugs in, she was doing herself with her wand. When she came, she squeezed her buttocks so hard that it somehow got inside her" and Hermione was glad that Harry couldn't see how embarrassed she was to be talking about that stuff.

"How is she planning on removing the object in question?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Madam Pomfrey is doing a little minor surgery as we speak" Hermione said. "Anyway… where did you go this afternoon? I came to see you, but you had vanished. I tried the Room of Requirements, but it wouldn't let me in"

"I fancied being in a warm field with the sun on my face, so I had Dobby take me to the outside of the room and I added the instruction I didn't want to be disturbed" Harry said quickly. "I should have left a note or something, but I just wanted a while alone without thinking about the blindness, the pain or Voldemort and the Death Eaters" and Hermione felt sorry for him at once. It was the truth, but Harry had gone there _after_ his visit to Hufflepuff.

"I'm sorry, Harry" she said. "I should have guessed you wanted to chill out"

"And I did that – with_out_ the aid of Luna's special aids" Harry said. "You better get back to Gryffindor before the curfew" he said, sensing it was dark outside.

"Are you going to be alright?" asked Hermione, putting her book into her bag.

"I'll just get undressed and get under the covers" Harry said. "I'm already on the bed, so I ain't going anywhere"

"If you're sure" Hermione said.

"Do I have to get the Headmaster to order you to bed?" Harry asked her.

"Alright" she kissed his head. "I'll see you in the morning" and she left Harry alone in the room. Whilst he had not been bothered being alone in the room before, the blindness sometimes caused him to panic when he woke. For the last few nights, Harry had woken to think he was back in his cupboard at the Dursleys.

#

The following morning was made up of a mock test for the members of Harry's year, and he was fed up of not being able to do a single thing of great importance by himself. His friends helped him to get around the school, but they could tell that he was getting more and more depressed as the weeks drew on. The whole school was beginning to notice as well, and even Ginny had tried to cheer him up. During one dinner, Fliss had run up to where Harry had been sitting and wrapped him up in the best attempt of a bear hug as she could manage. It had been a month and a half since Lupin had attacked him, and the werewolf had been convicted of assault, endangering minors, attempted murder and a great deal other offences. The testimony from Harry alone had been enough to send him to Azkaban for sixty years.

"To hell with this" Harry muttered, and hauled himself out of the chair he was sat in. He fumbled and groped his way out of the private rooms, through the office and to the stairs on the other side of the door. "I can do this" he said, took a deep breath and carefully navigated his way down the stairs without incident. "I can do this" he repeated, and started to walk along the corridor ahead of him – keeping his hand on the left wall as he did so. Despite not being able to see at all, Harry was picturing the journey in his mind. Once he got to the right part of the corridor, he turned left and kept on going until he reached a staircase that went both up and down. "Down we go" Harry said, carefully making his way down the stairs and making it to the bottom without incident. He had to get to the end of the corridor, then down another set of stairs one floor and along a balcony and a corridor before reaching the classroom the tests were being held in.

#

"Now then" said McGonagall as she surveyed the class. She was taking the mock exam as no DADA teacher could be found willing to take on such a short contract. The mixed class of the four Houses had done reasonably well in the tests that included dodging jinxes and shooting down targets that McGonagall sent flying at them. She also sent them target dummies which fired spells at them. Nothing too serious, of course, but enough to give them a few cuts and bruises to teach them useful lessons. "Now then" the Professor repeated herself, "You've all been through the tests, and I have to say I'm impressed with what you have done. Some of you have to work on your timing, so I want a full page and a half about what you could improv-" she was cut off as the classroom door swung open and bounced back off the stone wall.

"Would somebody mind helping me up?" asked Harry from the floor. He had a few cuts from where he hit the floor with some force, and some trickled blood in tiny rivers.

"Mr Potter!" McGonagall exclaimed. "What on earth are you doing here?" she asked him as Dean and Susan helped Harry to his feet.

"I was just passing by, Minnie, Old Girl, and thought I'd pop in and see how you were getting on" Harry said.

"Excuse me?" McGonagall choked. "Under the circumstances, I think you should refer to me as Professor"

"I'm wearing my Headmaster hat" Harry said. "Well I was… Think I must have left it behind. Anyway… sorry for being late, but I hope I still have time to take on the tests" at least Harry seemed to be having a good moment.

"Don't you think that is a little bit dangerous?" asked Hermione as she picked her way around the mass of students to join her boyfriend.

"If something isn't dangerous, then it isn't worth doing" Harry replied. "I bet that I could take on everything that Profess McGonagall can throw at me. Besides, I've not used very much magic since the accident, so it's a good test to see if my magic has been affected. If something happens, and I get attacked, at least I could sense the spells coming in" and McGonagall sighed and threw her hands in the air.

"Once this is over with, I'm going to need something to calm my nerves" she said.

"I have a spliff you could have a few puffs of, Professor"

"No thank you, Miss Lovegood" McGonagall said. "You have five minutes to defeat the enemy, Mr Potter. You may use any method you wish" she said as Harry was guided to the stage by Hermione. "I will start unannounced" and Harry nodded in agreement – old habits die hard.

"Ladies first" he said. There was a silence as everybody waited to see how Harry would react to fighting without a wand and blind.

"_Impedimeta_" McGonagall said. It nearly hit Harry before he stepped out the way.

"Dobby!" he called and the elf appeared. "Do it" he commanded, and the elf disarmed McGonagall and tied her up. The class erupted into cheers and laughter as Dobby banished the ropes before popping away.

"That was cheating, Mr Potter" the teacher said.

"You said to use any method, Professor. I knew I couldn't win in a fight, so I changed the rules so I could beat you. I don't believe in the No-Win scenario" Harry smiled – happy for the first time in a while. He turned to face the class. "Thank you, you've been a great audience" and put out a hand for Hermione to take as the class split up for lunch.

#

"How do you feel after that?" Hermione asked over lunch.

"A little bit better" Harry told her, "But I'm just pissed off with life as a whole" he went on. "I have to spend the rest of my life with being blind. Whilst the rest of the year gets to do the practical lessons, all I can do is the written work. I can't go anywhere without someone to help me get around. I can't do the simplest of tasks like eating or drinking without danger of spilling or dropping it all over the place" Harry said miserably.

"Maybe St Mungos doesn't want to keep raising and lowering your hopes" Hermione suggested.

"Oh, please…" Harry said. "Sometimes I'm surprised that you're still with me"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you spend your time on school work and me – not enjoying yourself. Your life is going to be spent looking after me. What sort of future is that to look forward to?" but Hermione would not be put off.

"I don't care if you are blind or not, Harry" she told him firmly. "All I care about is you, and nothing is going to change my love for you" and a thought hit her brilliant mind. "I know how to cheer you up" she said, then went to speak to Hooch at the staff table. She only hoped that Harry liked the gesture.

#

Harry did indeed like the flight around the Quidditch pitch, though it was annoying that he couldn't at least fly the broom himself. As he sat in the chair listening to the distant mumbling of the occupants of the school, Harry wondered how the hell he was supposed to attack Voldemort with no sight at all.

"Mr Potter?" Pomfrey spoke from the door.

"Yes?"

"Mr Potter… Harry…" Pomfrey wondered how he would take this news. "I have something to tell you"

"Let me guess" Harry replied in a bored tone. "You've been told that they have given up hope of ever finding a cure for my blindness?" but Pomfrey shook her head.

"Far from it" she said. "I've just been hand delivered the potion from St Mungos. That elf of yours is guarding it with two other elves" and Harry didn't know what to say.

"Dobby!" he called out, and heard the pop as the elf arrived out of thin air. "Take me and Madam Pomfrey to the Hospital Wing please" and the elf bounced up and down with excitement.

"At once, Master Harry Potter, Sir" and Dobby clicked his fingers. "Dobby be getting your Graingy" but Harry stopped him from doing so.

"I'll do it, Dobby. You go to Professor McGonagall and have her make sure Hermione comes nowhere near the Hospital Wing. Make sure that nobody hears you talking to the Professor, and I'll give you two days off a month as a raise – with more money, of course"

"Right away, Mr Harry Potter, Sir" and Harry would have laughed if he had seen Dobby actually salute before popping away quietly.

"Mr Potter, I have to warn you that this may not work. Because it is keyed up only to yourself, they have not been able to test it at all. I have been warned that you will experience tremendous amounts of pain whilst the optic nerves grow back. Unfortunately, I can not give you any pain relief" Pomfrey said.

"Why not?" asked Harry.

"Because it would counter the regrowth" Pomfrey explained.

"As long as it works…" Harry muttered, groping around for a bed to lie down on. "How did they manage to make one, anyhow?" he asked.

"One of the trainees working there suggested using the Hair of the Dog" Pomfrey said. Harry was not as smart as Hermione was, but even he had been fascinated by the subject during one of Snape's potion lessons.

"Hair of the Dog…? Isn't that supposed to be illegal?" Harry enquired.

"The person realised that piece of the glass they took out from you contained trace amounts of the potion. The trainee was able to get the pieces from the DMLE, repair the vial and then work out from the potion droplets how much was inside. Once they knew that, it was hard work in order to get the right amount of ingredients of the original potion, and then add that to the rest of the potion…" Pomfrey helped him to drink the potion. "This is going-"

"ARGHHH!" Harry screamed as the pain was quick in its arrival.

"-to hurt" Pomfrey finished. Harry was in agony, and it felt like white hot shafts of metal were being forced into the back of his eyeballs. He thrashed around on the bed as the pain grew even worse, and he screamed and yelled out in pain until his voice was too sore to continue. Slowly, the pain subsided and Pomfrey waited until he had stopped trembling before giving Harry something for the sore throat.

"That… hurt…" he said weakly. He had curled up into a ball and was whimpering from the last tendrils of the agony he had to go through.

"Mr Potter" Pomfrey called to him. "I have to do some tests on you" she said, noting that he was looking at his hands. "Mr Potter? Are you alright?" and listened to Harry as he whispered.

"My hands… my hands… I can see them. I never thought I would ever see them again" he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood shakily. "I CAN SEE!" he cried out loud, and kissed Pomfrey before running out at the double.

#

"Miss Granger?" McGonagall called for her to come to the front. "Is there something I can help you with?" she asked.

"Unless you can give Harry new eyes" Hermione said. "Professor, I'm worried about Harry. He enjoyed the ride on the broom, but he seems to be depressed about everything. The other day he suggested that we break up and not go out" and McGonagall was surprised.

"Why would he do such a thing? I thought you enjoyed being together?" she said.

"Harry said that if we weren't going out then I wouldn't be burdened by having to look after him when I got home at the end of a day's work. He's worried that any kids we have might be born blind" Hermione said. "What if he has to face the rest of his life like this? I am the smartest witch of my generation, but I can't even help my own boyfriend. Professor, he talked earlier about packing it all in" and McGonagall nodded.

"Nobody would blame him for leaving the school" she said, but was surprised when Hermione shook her head.

"He doesn't mean leaving the school, Professor" she said quietly. "He means to commit suicide. I suspect that he has been thinking about it for some time now, and I know he isn't joking about it. Harry can't face the thought of living his entire life unable to do even the most simple of tasks by himself" and Hermione twisted the sleeve of one arm of the robes she wore – a sign she was nervous.

"Would you like me and Madam Pomfrey to speak to him? Maybe get him some counselling?" asked McGonagall.

"Thank you, Professor, but I don't think so. My parents are not exactly religious and all that, but I did go to church when I was younger. I've read the bible, and I know it says that suicide is a sin. But then again, it is easy for a book to say one thing when it is another. It goes against everything I was taught, but I'm going to help him if he asks" Hermione said, trembling slightly as she spoke.

"Helping somebody to die is against the law" her teacher reminded the girl.

"Is it so against the law to help somebody end their lives if there is no hope of a cure for them?" Hermione asked, turning to look behind her at the classroom door. There was somebody screaming in the corridor outside, and it suddenly blew apart to admit Harry with a big smile on his face.

"MIONE!" he yelled. "I CAN SEE!" he picked her up in his arms and spun her around – joyous laughter coming from him.

"Harry Potter, you put me down this minute!" she giggled. "I'm getting quite dizzy!" she added. He spun her around a while longer before putting her lightly back on the floor.

"I can see, Mione!" tears of joy ran down Harry's face. "It's a miracle" he kissed Hermione on the lips. McGonagall raised an eyebrow at the display, but she was not inclined to say anything given the circumstances. "Oh" Harry noted the look, "Sorry, Professor" and he kissed her on the lips as well – causing jeers from everyone who had packed into the classroom or into the doorway.

"We should celebrate" Hermione noted.

"Good idea" Harry couldn't contain the happiness in his voice. "All lessons are cancelled for the rest of the day" he announced. "Do whatever you want to do" and Harry dragged Hermione out of the classroom by the hand.

"He… kissed…me…" McGonagall whispered – then fainted clean to the floor.

# # # # #

It was not until just before dinner that Hermione was seen walking towards Gryffindor with a smile on her face that could have powered the entire school for a week. When questioned, Hermione replied only that Harry had certainly made up for lost snogging time and had enjoyed looking at his girlfriend. Lavender happened to be in the girls' showers as Hermione entered, and the other girl noted, after Hermione had taken off the robes she was wearing, that she was wearing what appeared to be Harry's boxer shorts. Lavender smiled to herself and was happy that Harry and Hermione seemed to be back on track. After everything that had ever happened to him, Harry deserved happiness in his life. At least they hadn't gone the full way and had sex, but Lavender was sure that Harry might not be able to wait much longer. Hermione had told her that Harry respected her wishes to wait until they were married first, but from what she could see and smell, that remaining time was da-

"OUCH!" she hissed loudly. "Parv! Be careful down there" and Parvati looked up from where she had been giving Lavender a hair removal treatment between the girl's legs.

"Sorry" she apologised. "I've finished nearly everything here. Slip that robe on, and we'll get back to our dorm. I'll put that cream on there. You know what that poor first year thought the first time we did this" and Lavender nodded.

"Come on" she said.

#

"My Lord, we await your command" said Bellatrix. "All of your followers have arrived at their designated places" she added.

"Good" Voldemort replied. "Give me your arm" and Bellatrix did so. Voldemort activated the charm that was in each Death Eater's arm. Normally it was used to give warning of a meeting, but this time it would serve a different purpose.

ATTACK

**A/N: Dont start flaming me for the talk over assisted suicide. It happens, pure and simple. In that regard, i am Pro-Choice**


	14. The War Begins

**The War Begins…**

"Sir?" a young Auror came into the office.

"What is it, Simpkins?" asked his superior.

"Sir, I think I heard the sounds of people apperating" Simpkins said.

"Getting to or from Azkaban is impossible by that method" the older Auror said. All newly qualified Aurors were required to do two months at Azkaban. It was also used for Aurors recovering from injury and placed on light duty. All that was involved was the transfer of prisoners, checking visitors, and ensuring that the inmates got fed and other things that they needed. The prison island was well protected from invasion, and only a small wooden boat allowed entry and exit off the island.

"Sir" Simpkins protested. "I know what I heard. I heard the sound of maybe a half dozen arrivals" but the superior shook his head.

"I've been doing this job a lot longer then you have, son. Believe me when I say there is no way a Witch or Wizard could apperate here" the other Auror said.

"Sir, where are the elves?" Simpkins asked, looking around and finding none of them within view. Under normal circumstances, the elves always could be seen going to and fro, and one always sat in the duty office ready to take a message or other errand.

"Oh fuck…" the Auror said, rising to his feet and getting his armour on. Just as he put it on, the main doors opened up and Death Eaters rushed inside and started firing spells. "Ministry of Magic" the Auror tried to use the fireplace to raise the alarm, but nothing happened.

"They cut the floo off" Simpkins said. The pair rushed out the office and joined their fellow Aurors in the repulsing of the Death Eaters – but the numbers were just too great.

"They'll try to get their own out first, then anybody willing to join them" said the senior Auror. "We're outnumbered and cut off from reinforcements" he added.

"What do we do?" asked another Auror.

"Take down as many as we can" was the simple reply.

#

"Senior? We're getting reports of bright lights in the area around Azkaban" said an Auror. Her senior frowned, then tried to get the prison on the floo. He was more worried when the prison failed to reply to his call.

"What is the weather like, Miss Combs?" he asked.

"Heavy cloud cover, showers and a lightening storm" Combs said, looking at the last report she had from the island. If the lightening was too bad, then it could cut off the island via magical means until an hour after the storm had broken.

"If the storm hasn't passed when we leave, let your replacement know and have them contact Azkaban for an update" the Senior Auror said.

"Yes, Sir" Combs turned back to the rest of her work. The Senior Auror made a note in the duty log, then sat back and thought about what was going on.

"Combs, get me the latest location of the Minister and the Department heads" he said. He couldn't place his finger on it, but thirty years on the force had taught him to trust his gut feeling.

#

Within forty minutes of going in, the Death Eaters had freed their brethren and gained seven new recruits from the others there. The rest were slaughtered along with the Aurors. The newly recruited Death Eaters took the symbol of their service, and were then sent away to start training in the Dark Arts.

#

"We are still unable to contact Azkaban, Madam Bones" said an Auror.

"That's highly odd" she said. "That storm passed over two hours ago. They should have been able to check in by now" but before she could say anything else, another Auror came rushing in with a bloodied face.

"Madam Bones! We've got reports of Death Eaters attacking key places, and they've even got into the Ministry!" she said. Coldness swept through Bones before she rose to her feet.

"Recall all Aurors to defend the Ministry" she ordered. "Have all non essential personal begin evacuation plan" she grabbed her wand from the desk and headed out to join the fight.

#

"Harry!" Hermione shook him roughly. "Wake up, Harry!" and Harry opened one eye and looked at his girlfriend.

"Wazzup?" he asked.

"Voldemort's attacking" Hermione replied, and Harry sat bolt upright in bed – ignoring the headache and allowing the covers to fall to his lap.

"Here?"

"Not here" Hermione amended. "He started by attacking Azkaban to free his followers there. After that little visit, he went for the Ministry, Diagon Alley and dozens of places" she said, letting Harry swing his legs out of the bed and handed him the trousers from the previous night.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Susan Bones got a message from her Aunt saying that they are evacuating the Ministry. They're protecting the Magical Transportation department in order to get as many out of there as possible. We've not heard from them since" Hermione said. "McGonagall's waiting downstairs for you" she added as Harry slipped on a t-shirt and headed downstairs.

"Morning, Parvati, Lavender" he said as he passed the other two girls. He had spent the night with Hermione, and the pair had spent half the night playing games and drinking Butterbeer with the other two

#

"Morning, Mr Potter" McGonagall said. "Miss Granger has told you what has happened, I assume?" and Harry nodded.

"She has" he said. "What is the current situation?" he asked her.

"Diagon Alley is under the complete control of the Death Eaters, most of our other key locations have gone as well and the Ministry is still fighting hard" McGonagall said, falling into place beside Harry as they left Gryffindor.

"They can't hold on for much longer" Harry said. "Once they've got control of the Ministry, they can find the names and addresses of all the Muggle Born students. Once they know that, they can take out their parents and put the students into prison camps. Is the WWN on?" but McGonagall shook her head.

"I was listening to the shipping forecast, and just after that, there was the sound of glass breaking and then screaming. The station has been off the air since then" she said.

"How long do you think the Ministry can hold out?" Harry asked her.

"I don't know" said McGonagall. "We've not heard from them for a while now, and they could already be overtaken" and she told Harry other bits and pieces as he started to think.

"Get down to the chamber and tell Griphook and the other Goblins that they are going to have company. I'm going to call a meeting of the entire school and let them know what we're doing" he said.

"And what is that?" asked McGonagall.

"Readying for war" Harry said.

#

NOW HEAR THIS! NOW HEAR THIS! ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF ARE TO GO TO THE GREAT HALL AT ONCE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL. REPEAT: THIS IS NOT A DRILL. HEAD BOY AND GIRL AND PREFECTS REPORT TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE. MADAM POMFREY TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE.

#

"Can I have you attention please?" Harry said as he stood at the front of the hall. "As some of you might now know, forces loyal to Voldemort have started to attack Dozens of key places such as Azkaban and Diagon Alley. The Ministry is under heavy attack but is not expected to last much longer. They are holding out long enough to get everybody out using the emergency floo network. Those of you who are Muggle Born, have a Muggle parent or are Pureblood but didn't know it are to go with Professors McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick. You'll each be taken to your homes and get your parents to bring back to here" Harry paused to look at the worried crowd. "Voldemort will want to take over the government first of all, but the Ministry is evacuating the Department heads to here. Because I don't know when we might be attacked, I want everybody not getting their parents to pack their trunks. If we have to get into the chamber, then we've got to do it quickly" he added, and then Harry looked devastated. "I regret to announce that breakfast will be a little late this morning" and he got laughter from that.

#

"Hello, you two" said Mrs Granger as Harry and Hermione arrived via Dobby.

"Mum, we've got some bad news" said Hermione.

"Oh my god… You're pregnant!" said Mrs Granger dropping the teacup to the table and spilling the contents.

"If only that were the case" Hermione replied, glaring at Harry who was laughing. "Voldemort is attacking the Ministry and other places. Once he gets the locations of all the students with Muggle families, he is going to kill them all or hold them hostage" and at that moment, the front door to the house opened and Hermione's father walked in.

"Hermione" he kissed his daughter. "Harry" he greeted the young man.

"Please don't kiss me as well" Harry told him.

"To what do we owe this pleasure?" asked Hermione's father.

"You might want to make some tea first" Harry advised. "This might take time to explain" and they sat down to talk.

#

People arrived in dribs and drabs as students told their parents what was going on. Fudge arrived with the Departments heads, and Bones later told Harry that Fudge had refused to leave whilst others were still in the building. The Death Eaters took over the Ministry and nearly everything in the whole of Magical London. A few well defended places held out, but the sickening thing was the Goblins at Gringotts just sat back and did nothing. It was the general agreement that they had made some kind of deal with Voldemort, but nobody could find any evidence to back that up.

"Can we expect anybody else to come to our aid?" asked Harry.

"Not likely" said Fudge. "Dumbledore fixed it so that nobody would enter from the ICW. We're on our own" and Harry just shook his head.

"Thanks to him, this war might be over before it has even begun" he said.

"We could escape to other countries" suggested Bones. "Try to regroup, gather support and then attack You-Know-Who"

"And that would leave him with no counter to his plans of killing and dominating the muggles" Harry said. "We stay, and we're going to fight that bastard until we either die or we have won" and he left the office given to Fudge.

"Who put him in charge?" asked Bones with a raised eyebrow.

"Nobody, Amelia" Fudge replied. "However, there is one thing that I have learned over the last few months – don't cross Harry Potter"

# # # # #

The wireless played live sounds of the Death Eaters raiding homes and killing men, women and children. It was hell in the outside world, and Harry was burdened with the fact that Hogwarts could not support anybody else living inside it or the caves underneath it. Despite the mixing of magic and non magical people, the group got on more or less very well. Patrols were set up to walk around the grounds of the castle, and also in the highest towers of the school to observe the surrounding area.

"Harry, we've been looking for you" Hermione's call brought Harry out of his thoughts.

"What for?" he asked.

"We think we know where a Horcrux is" Hermione said.

"Where?"

"Godric's Hollow" Hermione said. Harry's entire attitude hardened as he followed his girlfriend to a sideroom that held Pansy, Fliss and Griphook.

"What is all this about a Horcrux?" he asked.

"We were talking about finding them, and Fliss was going by and heard us talking. She claims to know where one Horcrux is" Pansy said.

"Fliss, this is very important" Harry bent down to look into the girl's brown eyes. "Where did you see the Horcrux?"

"Well I think it is in the house of a very old lady" said Fliss, brow wrinkling as she thought hard. "Mother took me there sometimes. One time I got bored and started looking around the house when the lady fell asleep. In one of the rooms upstairs was something that felt really creepy. When I got near and picked it up, it started speaking to me and calling me bad names. I dropped it on the floor and ran out back downstairs"

"Anything else?" Harry asked. "This is very important" he reminded her.

"Well…" Fliss frowned even more. "She did smell a bit funny. Like when an apple goes bad. And she felt really icky"

"Do you know what the address of the house was?" Pansy said.

"Um…" the little girl shook her head. "No" but Harry assured her that what she had said was very good indeed.

"So what could it be?" Harry asked.

"I might know" Griphook said. "A few years ago, I was tasked with transferring some items from the Malfoy vaults to another. It was mainly a few bits of furniture plus a locket that we had been told not to touch. When we moved it, it slipped and one of the younger assistants grabbed it before we could warn him. He put it back in the bag before going mad. He died about three weeks later after smothering himself in Barbecue sauce and going to the dragon pens"

"Who?" Hermione asked him. "Whose vault?"

"Bathilda Bagshot" Griphook said. "However, it has been sometime since that happened, and I can not remember her address – only that it is in Godric's Hollow" and everyone kicked themselves for not thinking to copy all the records before Voldemort attacked. Harry was thinking this whole war was in his mind when a thought came over him.

"Mione, go and get Luna"

"Luna?"

"Just… get her" Harry said, and Hermione realised what he was thinking. She was as much against the idea as Harry himself was, but it was the only avenue open to them.

"Why do you want her?" asked Pansy. Harry jerked his head backwards to indicate that he didn't want Fliss to hear.

"Luna can see into a person's mind. Not very well, mind you, but she has been practicing for a while now. If she can look into your sister's mind, then we can get the address and get rid of one of the Horcruxes for good. Voldemort would be one step closer to dying permanently" Harry told her.

"I won't allow it" Pansy argued.

"Look, Pansy, this is the only option open to us. This is going to cause Fliss some discomfort, but we need that information badly. Voldemort's soul is in that locket, and we don't stand a chance of winning if it remains intact" Harry could understand Pansy's situation. She wanted to defeat Voldemort as much as anybody else, but she didn't want pain to be put upon her sister.

"You'll have to ask her" she told him.

"Hey, Fliss, we need to have a word" Harry said to the girl.

"Ok"

"In private" Harry said.

"Panny? Is he going to marry me?" Fliss asked her sister, and Griphook fell off his chair laughing.

"No" Pansy replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well Harry said he wanted to speak to me in private. Don't boys propose to girls in private?" Fliss said.

"That's true" Pansy told her, "But Harry has to ask you for something, and he wants to do it with nobody else listening. I've already said yes, but you have to make the choice yourself" and Fliss frowned before moving to the far side of the room with Harry.

"Fliss, you know that we need that address really badly?" and Fliss nodded at Harry's question, "Well one of my other friends can look into your mind and find it out without you having to think" he said. "The only problem is that you are going to get one heck of a headache, and you'll sleep for the rest of the day" and Harry waited as Fliss tried to weigh things up in her young mind.

"Do you need it badly?" she asked after a full minute of thinking, and Harry just nodded. "Well I guess its alright then. Do I get something in return?" the girl asked.

"Of course" Harry smiled.

"Then that's alright" Fliss said as Luna came in with Hermione.

"Hermione said you wanted to see me, Harry" the blond said.

"Luna, we know where something vital to Voldemort is kept. The trouble is, that we don't know where the house is" Harry explained. "Fliss has been there before, but she can't remember it. She has agreed to let you use your gift to find it"

"I can't do that" Luna said. "Doing it for friends as a good trick is fair enough, but I can't delve into the mind of a child. It's against the law for a start"

"Luna, this is important. If we can find this piece and destroy it before Voldemort can retrieve it, then we'd be able to cut part of him off. Fliss is the only person that knows the place it is kept" Harry looked into Luna's dazzling blue eyes. "You know I'd never lie to you, Luna. Have a look inside me and see if I am telling the truth" but Luna smiled and shook her head.

"I know you are telling the truth" she told him. "You are too honourable to do this otherwise. Tell me one thing though: how important is it? I know you said its valuable, but what does that mean?"

"Enough to risk lives to get and destroy" Harry said. "You know about the Horcruxes, Luna? Well Fliss thinks this locket is one of them, and is being kept in Bathilda Bagshot's home"

"Well lets do it then" Luna said. She told Fliss to think hard about the last time she went to Bagshot's house, and then closed her eyes to go into the girl's mind. It was almost ten minutes before the eyes snapped open, and Pansy only just caught Fliss before she smacked her head on the floor.

"Did you get it?" asked Harry.

"I did" Luna assured him, and told him the address.

"Luna, you don't know how much this means to me…" Harry hugged her and then turned to Pansy. "She alright?" he asked.

"She's asleep, but that's not to be unexpected" she told him

"She might just have saved hundreds of lives" Harry said, looking at the sleeping figure. "Have Dobby get her anything she wants"

"Now what do we do?" asked Hermione.

"We go and get that locket" her boyfriend replied. "We can't trust the Aurors in case one or more of them are spies for Voldemort. If we tell Bones and Fudge, they'll insist on sending Aurors they trust. This is something we can't leave to blundering idiots with a fetish for red cloaks"

"So when do we leave?" she asked.

"_We_?"

"Where you go, Harry, I go as well" Hermione said.

"During the night" said Harry. "A few of us will go in, hunt for the locket, and then get out before anybody notices"

"Who goes then?" asked Griphook.

"Well me and Mione, you'll have to come as well to tell us which locket is the one we want. Daphne and Neville might do as well" Harry said.

"Are you sure about Neville?" asked Hermione. "You know how stuck he can be in mock duels"

"I'd bet my life on him" Harry told her. "Let's go and rustle up some armour and make sure our wands are in top condition" he added. "This seems simple, but we'll not take chances on this. For all we know, Voldemort might have switched it for a fake and stationed people ready for anyone who comes to take the locket" and the group dispersed to get ready and inform Daphne and Neville they would be needed.


	15. Horcrux Hunting And Harry's Date

**Horcrux Hunting And Harry's Date**

"Hey, Dad" Hermione said.

"Hello, sweetie. What you up to?" asked her dad.

"Nothing much. Thought I'd come by and see how you and Mummy are doing" Hermione said.

"Mummy?" her father raised an eyebrow. "You haven't called her that since you were twelve and had your first pe-"

"DAD!" Hermione went a bright shade of red.

"Still got it…"

"I just wanted to see how you are getting on" Hermione said, face returning to a more normal colour. "Can't be easy for you to be thrown in with a bunch of bigots like some here" she added.

"Some of them don't seem to like us, but their kids actually tell them off. I have to admit that you've really done your work on this hideout. You've got bunk rooms for the younger kids, smaller dorms for the older ones, rooms for married couples, workshops, labs, hospital…" her father shook his head in amazement.

"Actually, it was Harry that came up with most of this" Hermione said. "He made enough rooms for every pupil's parents and siblings to come here in safety. We'd started out with just a gym, swimming pool and a place to learn music. Harry made sure that the school could take everybody's family"

"Why?"

"Harry has never had a happy childhood, you know that. To Harry, family is everything. He doesn't care how much money he spends, so long as people can have a family. You know when he stayed with us before term and then over Christmas?" Hermione asked, and saw her father nod, "Well he told me it was one of the best times of his life. He had a family to be a part of" but as she spoke, she didn't notice her father looking behind her and note the silent message that was in Harry's eyes. The mission to Godric's Hollow was going ahead – just not with Hermione.

# # # # #

They appeared in front of the cottage belonging to Bathilda Bagshot, and everyone looked around for signs of danger. Finding none, they moved closed to the home while Daphne checked for anybody inside.

"Nobody at home" she said. Neville opened the door with a soft _Alohamora_ and the group slipped inside.

"Whats the plan?" asked Daphne.

"You stay down here with Neville" Harry said. "I'll go and get the locket and replace it with a fake. If anybody turns up, take them out at once. If Death Eaters arrive in force, then do your best to slow them down"

"Don't worry, mate" said Neville. "We'll show them bastards how to fight"

"Does your grandmother know you talk like that, Longbottom?" asked Daphne dryly. Harry went up the stairs with the wand in his hand and headed to the room Fliss described. It was at the very end of the landing on the left, and the door was ajar which pleased Harry greatly.

"_Lumos_ Lamps" he said, lighting the lamps in the room. The dark room became much brighter, and Harry looked around and didn't see the locket at all. He looked in various cupboards and drawers, and eventually found a small wooden box which he opened. Inside was the locket, and Harry could hear voices coming from it – telling him that he was a failure and would lead his friends to death and slavery. Conjuring a bag, he juggled the box several times to get the locket into the bag, and then headed back out of the room. As he reached the doorway, he felt as if the magic in the cottage was beginning to build.

"POTTER!" Daphne called from the down the stairs.

"I've got it" Harry said, showing the pair the bag before shoving it into his pocket.

"And we've got trouble" Neville said. Harry followed his gaze and saw a old woman coming towards them with several Death Eaters for company.

"Shite!" Harry cursed. "Back up the stairs" and the trio rushed for the stairs just as the door opened.

"Oi!" came a shout, and a spell just missed hitting Daphne in the back.

"Get them" somebody else shouted.

"_Impedimeta_" Neville said, causing a Death Eater to trip and take the others following him as well. As they ran out along the landing to where the locket had been, the three created walls that would slow their pursuers down a while.

"What are we going to do?" Daphne asked. Harry's reply was to smash the window and create a cushioning charm on the ground below.

"Jump" he said. "Once you hit the ground – keep running until you hit the forest" and Neville was the first to jump. Daphne went next, and Harry brought up the rear. They raced to the tree line – missing deadly spells as they did so.

"They've set up an Anti-Apperation spell" said Daphne after casting a spell. Portkeys are out of the question too"

"Dobby!" Harry called, but the elf failed to appear.

"Must be blocking elfish travel as well" Daphne said. "We better keep on going and try every so often" and they set off into the forest. The Death Eaters attempted a chase, but turned back after a few hundred yards.

"How long might we have to wait?" asked Neville.

"If they cast one wide enough to block the entire forest, then we might be looking at about ten minutes. If they cast something stronger, we could be looking at an hour" Daphne said. "The fact that we can still cast spells means they have not done a magic suppression field"

"Well" Harry looked into the forest top, "It's a nice day for a walk in the woods" and they kept on walking.

# # # # #

"Has anybody seen Harry?" asked Hermione.

"He said he was going to check on the wards" Dean said. "He is the only one allowed there you know"

"I wanted to go over a few things with him before we set off to grab the locket" Hermione said to him.

"He'll be back soon" said Dean with a certain knowledge. "Fancy joining the game?" he said, pointing to the game he was playing with Fudge, Seamus, McGonagall and Ginny.

"Why not?" Hermione said, and conjured a chair and sat down on it.

# # # # #

"Okay guys" Harry said, "Take five"

"Five isn't going to do it" Neville panted as he dropped to the ground with relief.

"How far to the other side of the forest?" asked Daphne. She picked bits of twig and leaves off her clothing. When Harry didn't reply, she looked back to see him gazing into the distance. "I asked a question, Potter" she said sharply. "You could at least answer me" but Harry didn't reply. Sensing something was wrong, she took out her wand and stood by him. "Whats wrong?" she asked him.

"Theres a house over there" Harry said.

"Where?"

"There" Harry pointed into the distance. "Just by the group of large trees" and Daphne could see a badly damaged house.

"Death Eaters must have attacked it" the girl said. The pair got Neville on his feet, and the three set off towards the house. They hoped they could find survivors.

"They've really gone to town on this place" said Neville. They looked at the damage sustained to the house. It had been blasted apart on the upper floors, but the damage looked to be old.

"Anybody here must have been long dead by now" said Daphne. "Come on, we better get going" but Harry remained standing in front of the ruined house.

"Harry?" Neville tugged one of his arms. "We got to get back with the locket"

"Fuck the locket" Harry said – surprising Daphne and Neville with the way he spoke.

"We're wasting precious time" Daphne said.

"Daphne…" Neville whispered, "I've never ever seen him act like this"

"This is my home" Harry said quietly. "I've never seen it until now" he added.

"Are you sure this is it?" asked Neville carefully.

"This is it" Harry confirmed and looked at his former home with a heavy heart. His eyes strayed up to the upper floor where his mother had died in order to save him from harm.

"I bet it looked nice when it was intact" Daphne said as she used her wand to move debris out of the way. Harry was the first to move into the remains of the house, pausing only to close his eyes and put his hand on the mostly intact doorframe. Everybody stood in what used to be living room and surveyed the damage to the structure.

"I wouldn't know" Harry said, and Daphne regretted her words instantly.

"I'm sorry" she said. Even after all this time with Harry, she forgot he didn't know a lot about his parents.

"Do you think Voldemort would have left a Horcrux here?" asked Neville.

"I don't know" Daphne replied.

"What do you think Harry?" asked Neville, but there was no reply and in fact Harry wasn't around at all. "Where's he gone?" he asked and he and Daphne drew wands

"He's upstairs" Daphne said quietly and pointed upwards. They slowly made their way up and saw Harry standing midway along the landing to what would have been bedrooms, but which were now just damaged and ruined. Harry was stood staring at one particular area, and Harry Potter was crying a full reservoir of tears.

"Harry? I know this is upsetting for you, but what…" Neville's words got cut off as Harry turned red eyed from crying – something he was still doing.

"That bastard!" he sobbed. "That bastard didn't even tell the truth about the bodies! HE NEVER FUCKING BURIED THEM" and then he crumpled to the debris littered floor and fell apart. The other two looked down the landing and saw two decomposed bodies – Lily and James Potter.

"The bastard" Neville and Daphne said at the same time.

#

It had taken early twenty minutes for the pair to get Harry to leave the cottage, and only then with a promise to return for the bodies later. They had to walk another ten minutes before finding they could return to Hogwarts. Once back within the castle, they had gone down to the bunker and found Hermione who was angry at first with Harry for going without her, but then became confused by the fact that Harry's face was still stained with tears.

"We got the fucking locket" he told her.

"Well that's good" Hermione said.

"For some" Harry said. Hermione was puzzled as to what had caused a change in Harry and had to be filled in by Daphne and Neville. "Susan!" Harry shouted, and the Hufflepuff came hurrying from where she had been talking with Hannah.

"Something up?" she asked.

"Go round and get the DA together. We're about to go on a little group outing" Harry said for a reply. Half an hour later, and the group left to get the bodies of Harry's parents. Nobody entered the house save for Harry himself, and he alone placed his parents into coffins and took them out for retrieval to Hogwarts. Fudge wanted to honour both of them, and Harry turned over planning of the funeral to him, but left instructions that nobody entered the cold room they were in except himself.

#

"Harry?" Pansy shook him from the thoughts of revenge he had planned for Dumbledore.

"Yeah?"

"Fliss has come up with a couple of things she wants in return for helping you" Pansy handed him a sheet of paper with little neat writing on it.

"Jelly and custard at every dinner, lots of sweets…" Harry recited the list.

"Why not skip to the end?" suggested Pansy.

"She wants _WHAT_?" Harry's eyebrows raised in unison.

#

"You have to be kidding me" Hermione said. Harry handed her the list and Hermione read the last item. "Alright, so you are _not_ kidding me" and Harry shook his head.

"I've faced dragons, Death Eaters, Molly Weasley's cooking, Dudley's farts and Voldemort himself. None of that compares to the scared feeling I have going on a date!" Harry said.

"Well you did tell her anything" Hermione pointed out. "Well, what do Purebloods expect on a date?" she wondered aloud.

"Depends on the girl" said Susan. Harry and Hermione had called a council of war with all of their female friends.

"What does she like?" asked Ginny.

"Me" Harry said dead pan. "Well she likes reading, water, horses and generally having fun" and they set about a plan.

#

Fliss could hardly be controlled with the excitement bubbling up in her. She told every single person and creature in the castle that she was going to date Harry Potter. The girl became even more pleased when Hermione admitted that she and Harry had never been on a proper date before. Madam Malkin took Fliss's measurements before working to make her a dress fit for a date. She had free reign to do what she wanted, but Fliss had sternly reminded the woman it had to be pretty. Malkin had had to assure the girl three times that week it would be. On the appointed day, Harry put out a formal suit and long black cloak before going to where Fliss lived with her sister and Daphne. Harry knocked on the door and waited.

"Oh, Harry" Daphne said. "Come on in" and Harry stepped inside the living room. Daphne had mentioned it was silly to use one of the rooms reserved for her year's Slytherins when she would be the only one using it. She had moved in with the Parkinsons and took up the spare room. A bit of remodelling had to be done so that Daphne had her own shower in there, but it was nothing when compared to the extra space the bunker now had.

"Is she ready?" asked Harry.

"Pansy is just getting her ready now" Daphne said. "Fliss is really looking forward to the dinner tonight" she added as another door opened and out came both of the Parkinson girls. Fliss was wearing full riding gear – right down to the black helmet on her head.

"Are you ready to go on the first part of your date?" Harry asked. Fliss just bounced up and down with happiness, and held Harry's hand as Pansy told Harry to watch out for her sister at all times – all while having a mock stern mother look on her face. The two of them went out into the grounds where Firenze waited for them. The centaur had a saddle and reins on him.

"Mr Potter" he spoke, "I deal with looking at the stars and the future. I don't deal with giving little girls riding time like some bloody pony" and Harry tutted at him.

"Do you want to see her upset?" he asked.

"Do you want to see the bruises likely to be on my back?" the centaur replied.

"You don't do this, and I'll serve an eviction notice on your herd" Harry warned him.

"That's blackmail" Firenze said.

"A TALKING HORSEMAN!" Fliss exclaimed. Harry realised at once that she had never seen a centaur before.

"He is called Firenze" he said to her.

"Hello, Mr Horsyman" Fliss said. The girl misinterpreted Firenze's look of hatred for Harry for something else. "You look very sad" she said. "I know what will cheer you up" and called for Dobby. She whispered to the elf, he vanished and came back and handed Fliss a small brown paper bag before vanishing once more.

"What have you got there?" Harry asked.

"Every horse likes sugar lumps" Fliss said. "Everybody knows that"

"Silly me" Harry said, and Fliss giggled as she fed Firenze a couple of sugar lumps. "Lets go riding" he said, and Harry lifted her onto the centaur's back before jumping up himself.

"Omph" Firenze protested.

"Ride, horsey!" Fliss nearly strangled the poor creature, and Firenze started moving at a canter – all the time trying to regain some breath.

"I hate you, Harry Potter" he said, and then muttered something under his breath.

"He spoke again" Fliss said. She was having the time of her life so far on her date. Harry knew she liked horses, and he must have gone looking for a suitable horse for them both to ride. He had been really nice and found a talking horseman which they now rode. The little girl was sure that Pansy and Daphne would be impressed. Hermione, she decided, was going to be very jealous. "What did he say, Harry?" she asked.

"I said that I was going to kill him myse- Omph!" Firenze would have finished, but Harry tweaked the reins a little. "Neigh…" the centaur said bitterly. The creature spent the rest of the afternoon plotting many ways Harry could die in a freak accident.

#

"… and it was a talking horseman, Panny" Fliss said.

"Talking horseman?" Pansy asked, looking at Harry in confusion.

"He looked a little sad at first, so I fed him some sugar lumps which made him feel better" Fliss went on with her explanation. "I think he was called Fe wren say" she added with a frown of concentration. "We went riding on the grass, and then we went riding in a bit of the lake. We made such a big splash riding through, and then we went…" as Fliss spoke, a thought popped into the minds of Pansy, Daphne, Hermione and the rest of the planning committee.

"Well, Fliss, why don't you get into the bath, get all cleaned up and then put on your dress?" suggested Pansy.

"Okay" the girl said, and started running for the bathroom.

"Horseman?" Hermione questioned Harry.

"Should we start digging anti centaur traps?" wondered Ginny. The group split up with thoughts and talking on Harry's decision to go pony trekking with a fully grown centaur.

#

Pansy had forgotten to remind Fliss to undress before getting into the bath, and found a soaked little girl falling to the bottom. Once she was dried off, Daphne and Ginny did some stuff to her hair and put some make up on. She didn't really need it at her age, but Fliss insisted that she needed some for the big part of the date, so the girls gave her a bit of lipstick and a bit of eyeshadow.

"Is Fliss ready?" Harry asked, wearing the stuff he had set out that afternoon.

"Coming!" Fliss called from the bedroom, and walked out in her dress. It was a deep green with gold around the collar and the cuffs. It extended down to the floor, brushing it very gently. "Do I look pretty?" Fliss asked. She wanted to please Harry – she had thought of him as a big brother and friend.

"Hey, Pansy? Daphne?" Harry called. "I think somebody has kidnapped Fliss" and by previous arrangement, two Aurors came running in and did a fancy light show with their wands as they pretended to check Fliss was really Fliss. The girl giggled at the attention, and even more when the Aurors told Harry she was who she claimed.

"Do I look pretty?" Fliss repeated.

"You look stunning" Harry said, extending a hand to his date for the evening. "Between you and me" he whispered, "I think I am in love"

"Silly Harry" Fliss giggled again. As they went for dinner, they walked past a number of girls who burst into well rehearsed tears at the sight of Fliss in her beautiful dress. Lavender and the Patil twins demanded Fliss's dressmaker, but soon they reached a table in the great hall that Harry had bewitched to display stars and a moon. The table had been set with almost everything already on it. A few candles burned a magical non melting flame in their holders.

"Good Evenings, Sir and Madam" Dobby appeared in a little tuxedo that he had proudly made all by himself. "I am Dobby, your Waiter for tonight. Would you like anything at the moment?" he asked.

"I think a glass of wine for myself, please" Harry said in a posh voice. "And a small glass for my companion here" he added.

"Very good, Sir" and Dobby popped away.

"Harry!" whispered Fliss so others couldn't hear her speak. "I'm not old enough to drink wine. Pansy told me before we left that I'd be in big trouble if I did" she said, looking to see if Pansy was watching.

"This is a special wine" Harry said. "You can not do anything silly while drinking it at all, but you can only drink it once a year" and Dobby reappeared with two glasses of what looked like wine. In fact, it was extra fizzy and dyed pumpkin juice – Fliss wouldn't know the difference.

"Would you be caring for the menu?" asked Dobby.

"Yes, please" Fliss said, and Dobby produced two menus out of thin air.

"Please callings for Dobby when yous be ready to order" and the elf went away again.

"There is so much to choose from" Fliss said. She selected the tomato soup for a starter, then the roast for her main course and followed by jelly and custard. Fliss had seen one main course offer as Fish Fingers and Custard, and had drawn Harry's attention to it at once. "Do people really eat Fish Fingers and Custard?" she asked him.

"Only a Doctor" Harry said.

"Doctor who?" Fliss pressed. A nearby wizard remembered Fliss talking about the odd choice years later when he wrote a script for a little known TV sci-fi program.

"Your starters, Sir and Madam" Dobby appeared with two soups. Fliss was very careful not to spill anything down the front of her dress, and sipped at her 'special' wine. The table with Harry was the only one with a tablecloth and candles, and Fliss felt like a Princess for the night.

"Do you like music?" Harry politely asked after they had finished eating.

"Yes" Fliss replied.

"Would you like to dance?" Harry asked her, and Fliss squealed in delight as they stood up and Harry took her small hands in his own. Music came from out of the air, and Harry led Fliss in a slow dance that she enjoyed greatly. Fliss grew tired after a while, so Harry escorted her back down to the bunker. Pansy was talking to Daphne as they came in, and Fliss hugged her slowly.

"Did you have a good time?" Pansy asked her sister.

"Oh yes" Fliss nodded, "We had dinner under the stars" she said. "And then me and Harry started dancing, and everyone said that I looked good in my dress and that my dancing was very good, and now me and Harry are going to sleep together" and Daphne burst into laughter - Harry just red bright scarlet.

"Would you mind repeating that last bit?" Pansy asked her sister.

"I said that me and Harry are going to sleep together" Fliss told her.

"Um… Why do you think that is going to happen?" Pansy enquired.

"Because one of those twins said it would happen" Fliss said.

"Which twins?" and Pansy's question was good. The school house a number of twins – like the Patil twins. Harry was the only person who could tell them apart before they spoke.

"The ones with red hair" Fliss meant either Fred, George or both of them at the same time. "I asked them what they did on dates, and they said they would go out, then dress up for dinner and then go home and go to sleep together" and the three teenagers were glad that Fliss had assumed they simply went to sleep, and that the expression meant something completely different.

"Well I suppose we could" Harry said. He made a mental note to talk to the Weasley twins in the morning about answering Fliss's questions. Pansy took a photograph of Harry and Fliss before giving a flick of her wand to clear off the make up. Fliss went into the bedroom to change into her pyjamas, and Harry slipped inside the room as she finally succumbed to tiredness and started to sleep.

"Harry…" Pansy hesitated, "Thank you for making my sister feel special. I know the Parkinson name is not worth much, but you treat me and Fliss with such kindness. If there is anything I can do to repay the kindness you've shown my sister" Pansy said, undoing the top buttons of her blouse. It was clear how she was intending to repay Harry. He felt disgusted that someone had been brought up to think that was the only option.

"Think nothing of it. I never had a family when I was growing up. My muggle relations treated me worse then a slave. Every single time my cousin got into trouble, it was always blamed on me and my 'freakishness'. I was beaten every day since I lived with them. I am the richest person in the country, Pansy, but I would give everything I own to have one hug from my parents" Harry said. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to kill myself before Fliss decides she wants to marry me" and with that, he went off in search of some strong tea.

#

As he was too tired to sleep right, he went on a walk around the castle. As he walked along the upper classroom corridors, he encountered a glowing pink mist. It didn't seem to pose any danger, and it didn't affect him as he went through it – although he was a little dizzy. Harry presumed it was something done by the Weasley twins, and cleared it away before continuing down the corridor. As he headed towards the place occupied by Trelawney, the sound of running made him turn to see Hermione running down another corridor towards him. Susan Bones was not very far behind her. Both girls looked as if they had seen Voldemort himself.

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione said, flinging her arms around him.

"Hey, Mione" Harry said, patting her on the back. "What's brought this on?" he asked.

"Harry, I came up here to have a chat with Susan" Hermione said as she pulled away from her boyfriend. "But when we headed down, we found parts of the castle in ruins. We looked around for nearly an hour, and you are the first person we've seen since then" and Harry frowned.

"What do you mean in ruin?" he asked her.

"The Ravenclaw and Gryffindor towers have gone. Whole chunks of the school is missing, rubble is everywhere, and we can't see Hogsmeade at all" Hermione said.

"It's just missing, and everything is blackened and smoking" added Susan. "And it feels as if we are eating metal" she said as Harry looked out of a window and saw Hogsmeade was well and truly gone – a smoking black crater in its place.

"Oh shit!" something pushed through from Harry's memory. "Get to the bunker now!" he ordered, and pushed both girls in front of him.

"Whats wrong, Harry?" Susan asked him as she and Hermione raced along.

"We've been nuked" was all that Harry replied.


	16. Roundabout Way of Getting Back

**Roundabout Way of Getting Back**

"So what is this bomb?" asked Susan. She and Hermione had gone with Harry into the chamber of secrets to find nobody at all inside. Both girls had stood under hot showers for ten minutes until they looked like human lobsters, and they came out and dressed in fresh clothing. Whilst inside, Harry had looked around and found nobody any place and that the entire underground living areas looked as if there had been an almighty fight going on. He tried tapping into the wards, but Harry found that he couldn't touch any of the wards at all. It all confirmed what he suspected.

"A nuclear bomb was developed as a weapon to destroy entire towns and cities in one go" Hermione said. "It could kill millions of people in the blink of an eye" she added.

"That's horrible" Susan said with eyes like saucers.

"And it was never used in all the years it existed" Harry said. "Some people argued that it gave peace to the world as one side using the weapons would be killed by the opposing side" he shook his head.

"So the muggles nuked Hogwarts?" Hermione asked herself aloud.

"Looks like it" Harry told her. "The only thing I can think of is that Voldemort decided to attack and control the muggles, and they had no other option but to use nukes" and Susan couldn't believe that muggles were capable of causing such destruction.

"What do we do now?" asked Hermione.

"We've got to make contact with the outside world" Harry said. "See how many people survived the fighting" but a check of the floo indicated it was either disabled or the system was offline. "Hermione, do you remember if shield spells can block out harmful particles or not?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure" said Hermione. "Maybe… I don't know" she was struggling like the others to comprehend what was going on.

"Find every bottle you can get down here" Harry told them. "Fill them up with as much water as you can. I'm going to see if there is any food for us here, get it and then come back" and Susan started looking for such containers.

"Are we going?" asked Hermione.

"Nothing for us here" Harry said. "If everybody here is dead, then there is nothing that can be done here. We'll try to get to the Ministry if possible" Harry got up and started hunting for food. Hermione worked on trying to get a way to the Ministry, but found that portkeying and apparition were out of the question. Flying on broomsticks couldn't be done because of all the radiation, and the shield charm could only be used whilst stationary. Harry could, after months of trying, produce one that allowed him to move, but it was purely academic as no broom could be found in one piece. While searching the entire castle, Susan found a few weakly glowing coins and gems in the warding chamber. She took them to Harry and Hermione who examined them intently for two full days – consulting books scavenged from the library from by Harry.

#

"So what can we do with them?" asked Harry.

"These coins and gems power the wards" Hermione said. "When the wards were destroyed, they survived and have been providing basic needs – that's why the showers still work. I've stopped them from draining, but there isn't much that we can do with them" she went on.

"Can you drain them into one item?" asked Susan.

"Like what?" asked Harry.

"Well…" Susan began, "I like to know how things can be done in a dramatic emergency, and I read how power from warding crystals can be transferred to items. We might be able to portkey to the Ministry if we transfer the power to the portkey. We'd have to use it at once, but we should be able to get to the Ministry"

"What if we don't have enough power to get there?" asked Hermione.

"Then portkey safeguards kick in and we get dropped out some place safe" Susan told her.

"If the safeguards still work" Harry noted darkly.

#

"Right" said Susan. "I've been able to transfer the last of the transmorphin crystals into the portkey. Get hold before we lose power" and they picked up the bags with the bottles and containers of water and grabbed the piece of rope that served as the portkey. The three felt the familiar tug around their stomachs as it activated. When it ran out of power, they stood in a field with dead and bloated cows littering the fields in various stages of decomposition.

"I guess we're not in the Ministry" Hermione said, looking around as Harry created a shield around the trio.

"No…" he drawled. "What makes you think that?" and Hermione made a face at him.

"The question is where the hell we are" Susan said.

"We should get to the nearest road" Harry said. "Should be a road sign or something. Once we find a map or atlas, we'll be able to figure out how far we are from London" and they headed under the shield towards the road at the end of the field.

"What if we're far away from London?" asked Hermione.

"Try and find a car or something that we can get working" Harry said. "Dudley was a real prick, I know, but I did learn how to hotwire cars from listening to him talking to his mates" he continued. They got to the road, and, after failing to spot a sign, continued down the road until they found a road sign which told them they were three miles from Ockham. They found a beaten up old car which Harry hotwired and they piled in and headed off. Harry drove slowly so as to save as much fuel as possible. Three hours later, and the group arrived at the Ministry. It looked badly damaged from fighting, but they could find no bodies after a careful search. They set up camp in the Records Department, and the three of them tried to think of what to do next. No muggles had been seen on the streets around the Ministry entrance, but Harry had the sicken feeling that they wouldn't ever see a muggle. More clues confirmed that whatever had happened had been in their future – the biggest being a newspaper giving the date as a year more than what it should be.

#

"Been a week" said Susan, kicking at some loose stones, "Now what do we do?" she asked.

"We could wait here and die" Harry suggested bitterly. He felt as if he should have been able to prevent this from going on.

"Or we could try to find a way back" Hermione said. "I've been reading some of the texts in the Unspeakable department, and they mention something about time travel. I've looked for Time Turners, but nothing is down in the vaults. Those that are there have been completely smashed. Does anybody else have time turners?" she asked Susan.

"The Americans do" the girl replied. "I remember my Aunt talking about them, and she mentioned that the Americans have quite a number stored in the desert"

"Where?"

"Some place called Nevada" and Harry snapped round to look at Hermione who seemed to have the same idea.

"Area 51" she confirmed.

"Oh" Susan said. "You know of it?" and the other two nodded. "But if we can't portkey, floo or apperate there, how do we get to America and get a Time Turner. We can't fly there on brooms"

"You're quite right" said Harry, smiling for the first time since this had started. "We don't have to fly on brooms at all"

"What do you mean?" asked Susan.

"Everything looks like a nuclear attack, but cars and buildings are intact" Hermione said. "Looks like a neutron bomb was detonated"

"Whats one of those?" asked Susan.

"It was a device that would be detonated over a target. Instead of destroying everything and everyone, it would simply vaporise humans and leave all the buildings, cars, trains and stuff like that intact for the occupiers" Hermione explained.

"That sounds worse than those other bombs you talked about" Susan shivered.

"They were supposed to be just theory, but looks like they got built after all" Harry said. During the summer and other holidays spent with the Grangers, Harry had read up on different subjects. He had been keen on war books, and had picked up some useful tactics. If we can find a bus depot or something, then we might be able to get to an airport"

"Fly a plane?" Hermione was slightly alarmed. "Do you even know how to fly a plane?"

"No" Harry replied cheerfully, "But I seen a good many films lately" and Hermione groaned loudly and rolled her eyes.

"Do you think we can find one of these things with enough fuel?" Susan asked Harry.

"Maybe – I just don't know" said Harry. "All of this could be academic anyhow. For all we know, we could be the last three alive on the planet. We haven't seen any others on our way here, and I haven't spotted anybody whilst getting stuff from the topside…" Harry stopped talking as a thought struck him.

"What is it?" asked Hermione.

"Do you remember when I brought a couple of buses and stored them at Willesden garage?" Harry said, and Hermione nodded. "Perhaps at least one might be there still. We could at least use that to get to Heathrow"

"Not City?" Hermione asked.

"Planes there don't exactly have enough height for what we want" Harry said. "We're going by Concorde" and Hermione wondered if this was all some bad dream.

"What is a Concorde?" asked Susan.

#

It took them a while to get over London, but it was done in a few hours at a walking pace. They broke into the garage and found Harry's buses protected by nothing at all. The trio could only assume that the protections had long since gone, but that they had done their job. Harry picked a Leyland Olympian as it had a door and had more then enough diesel to get from the garage to Heathrow airport. They decided that a day's rest would suit them very well, so they camped out in an office on the garage floor – closing the large metal doors to keep out harmful particles. Harry was glad that he had raided Diagon Alley for supplies as they made up a cleanings potion for each of them, and also for the fact that he had picked up bottomless and shrinkable trunks. Before they set off, the group removed all the usable parts from the other buses and place them in the trunks which they shrunk and put into their bottomless bags. Hermione took the wheel of the bus the next day, and Harry and Susan went on the top deck to look ahead for blockages. An hour and a half later, and they reached their destination.

"Hermione, you may well be the smartest and most capable witch of our age, but you skills as a bus driver leave something to be desired" Susan said.

"All things being equal, I'd rather face certain death" Harry agreed. Hermione had driven the bus onto the apron and around it so they could find a Concorde. They found one sitting with a broken wing in the hanger. On the journey, Harry had explained that the Concorde was not just a fancy choice at all. By flying at higher then normal altitudes, they would stay above most of the harmful radiation left over from the war. They used the levitation charm together to get the plane out, and then to turn it around before placing it gently on the tarmac once more. It took several _Repairo_s to get the wing fixed, and Hermione found some stairs and pushed them against the forward portside door so they could get inside.

"Hermione, you get in the cockpit and start looking for a check list. Susan, go through the bags and get out that map and the atlas" Harry said. He went around the airport looking for a fuel bowser, and shrunk one so it fit inside the shield he projected. He took it back and started filling up the tanks on the plane. It was still covered with a fine layer of radioactive dust, and Harry left it as it was on the reasoning it would blow off during take off.

"According to this" Hermione indicated the fuel level indicators, "We've got enough to get to America" and Harry called Susan into the cockpit.

"Hermione says that there is enough fuel for me to get to America" Harry began, leaning on the bulkhead, "So I am going to America to find these Time Turners. However, there is no guarantee that there are some there. You both have the chance to stay here and try to find other survivors – muggle or magical" Harry went on. "This is something that I have to do" he added.

"I've said it before, and I will say it again, Harry. I'm with you until the end" Hermione said. "We're a team" she added with a smile and a hug to her boyfriend.

"Susan?"

"I'm with you as well, Harry" the Hufflepuff said. "After everything that has happened, I think that I'd rather be dead then live in a world like this" and Harry nodded in appreciation.

"Then let's get everything onboard and get ready for takeoff" he said, and headed for the cockpit to start the engines. He had studied all of the manuals that Hermione could find, and remembered everything that he had seen from films and TV about flying.

#

"Door is shut" Hermione called forwards.

"Engines running normally" Harry replied, and gently released the brakes and pushed the throttles forwards a little. The mighty aircraft rolled forwards and turned in response to Harry's commands, and the girls joined him in the cockpit and took seats. Harry taxied the plane around to the end of runway 27R, and then put the engines to idle whiles he went over the checklist with Hermione and Susan. It took them more time then a trained crew, but they managed as best as they were able to. Harry pushed the throttles wide open and they heard the powerful engines roar as they pushed the plane along the ground.

"You've got enough speed" Hermione said, looking at the indicator. Harry pulled back the yoke and the graceful plane glided into the air.

"Course heading?" he asked.

"Steer 210" Hermione said, reading the flight plan left by a previous, and now long dead, flight crew.

"Passing 10,000 ft" Harry said. "I'll take her up to 50,000 ft and then we'll go for it" he added. Once they reached the altitude, Harry put the wings level and pushed the throttles as far as they would go – taking the plane through the sound barrier.

"You want anything to eat?" asked Hermione, getting up out the co-pilot's seat and heading back with Susan.

"A nice beef steak with chips" Harry said. "And a nice bottle of champers to wash it down with" he added.

"Right" Hermione and Susan started to confer together to cook Harry a good meal. During their recent travels, he had always put them first and himself second. He had made sure that they had enough to eat and drink before taking something for himself.

"What is he doing?" Susan asked suddenly, looking back into the open cockpit.

"I don't believe it" Hermione shook her head. "He's bloody singing" and Harry was.

"_Those magnificent men in their flying machines…_" Harry sang as he engaged the auto-pilot and headed back towards the passenger cabin. "I'm going to catch a bit of sleep" he said. "Wake me up when you're done" and he put up the arms of several seats, stretched out and went to sleep.

#

They landed in America, but the plane wouldn't be able to fly again without the right sort of fuel. They managed to get an old chartreuse microbus working, and started off in the direction of the top secret base known as Area 51. They had worked out a route that took them past as many airports as possible without much deviation. It was two days before they got their hands on one, but Harry decided that they needed a few days rest. After all of what had happened to them, he was sure that the girls needed a rest. In the end, they stayed in a long abandoned hotel for a week. Once they had enough of it, they continued on their trip and arrived in Las Vegas. Instead of the bright lights and loud noises, most of the buildings were damaged or completely obliterated. Hermione suggested that they set up camp in the severely damaged airport on account of the fact it might have maps that would be useful in getting to Area 51.

"Of course" she said, "It doesn't appear on any maps"

"Then how do we find one?"

"The muggles put a No-Fly Zone around the base and surrounding area" Hermione told Susan. "But the base will be in the exact middle of the zone"

"So we just head to the middle?" Susan asked.

"And hope that what we want is there" Harry said.

"And if it isn't?"

"Game over" Harry piled as much of the burnable stuff as possible before setting alight with a match. All three of them used as little magic as possible, and Susan would have been lost without Harry and Hermione both of whom had extensive knowledge of the muggle world.

"You mean we'd die?"

"Either that or we get squashed by a giant foot coming from the sky" Hermione shrugged. "Given what has happened over the years, I'd put my money on the foot"

# # # # #

"There it is" Hermione was the first to spot the sprawling base.

"And I thought Hogwarts was huge…" Susan said with awe in her voice and eyes.

"Wands out" Harry said. "We don't know what is here – or who for that matter! If muggles survived in this place, then we want to be ready to knock them out" he put the car into gear and continued down the road. After a few minutes they came up to a signpost.

"STOP!" Hermione cried suddenly. Harry slammed the brakes on so hard that Susan went tumbling around in the back.

"What is it?" Harry looked around for danger and saw none.

"We've got to have our picture taken" Hermione said, getting out of the car with a camera they had found in the Ministry.

"We're on a mission to save humanity and Hermione goes sight seeing?" Harry shook his head. They got back inside the car after the customary pictures had been taken, and they drove on into the most secret muggle base on the planet.

"Where do we start?" asked Susan.

"Can we just _Accio_ the thing to us?" asked Harry, but Hermione shook her head.

"Time Turners are protected against that sort of thing" she told him. "We're going to have to search each building one by one" but a brainwave hit Susan as something Harry told her came to mind.

"Can't you ask your wand to point you in the direction of it?" she asked Harry. "Like what you did during the Final Task in the Tri-Wizard?"

"I should have thought of that" grumbled Hermione.

"Give the little people their due, Mione" Harry said as he took out his wand. "Point me the Time Turner" and the wand spun on the palm of his hand before settling towards a clump of buildings a distance away from them.

"It worked!" Susan said, and they got into the car and started to move in the direction.

"Hang on…" if Hermione had stopped for the pictures, then they could wait for this. "Point me Hanger 18" Harry said. His wand spun round to point in a different direction, and Harry steered the car in that direction. "Susan?" he called.

"Yeah?"

"Do you believe in life on other planets?"

"Huh?"

#

The trio stood looking at the entire contents of the gigantic hanger. All three were wide-eyed with wonder and amazement as they took everything in.

"Well… now we know. Mione…?" Harry said weakly.

"Yes, Harry?" she replied weakly.

"You got any shots left in that camera?"

"Yeah"

"Use them" Harry said, and ran his hands over the side of the nearest craft to him. Although they had a job to do, Harry decided to take a short break and to look at everything in the hanger. The girls looked around as well, and Susan was amazed at everything that she could see. It was then that something caught her attention.

"Harry?"

"I've found a Time Turner" she held it in her hands.

"You've found one?" Hermione was overjoyed. "We can go back again" and she started making calculations as to how many times it would have to be turned in order to return to 1996.

"Not exactly" Susan paid out the chain so it hung down between her fingers. "The chain isn't long enough"

"But that means…" Hermione whispered.

"It means that one of us has to stay behind" Harry said.

"You've got to go" said Susan. "You and Hermione have to go back"

"That is not an option" said Harry.

"But we can't fit all three of us under the chain" Hermione said.

"Look, Harry" Susan's voice was firm. "You are the only hope we have for saving the world from Voldemort. Hermione can help you to train, to devise clever schemes and all sorts of things. Me? I'm just a silly Hufflepuff whose luck is just tough"

"One who needs more time to make a better rhyme. We all go" Harry's hand darted out and snatched the Time Turner from Susan, "Or none of us go"

"This is not the time to be a hero" Hermione said.

"I'm not joking, Hermione Granger" Harry told her firmly, "We've already lost too much in this war, and I am not going to sacrifice another life just so I can go home. We're going to keep looking for another Time Turner – there has to be another one around here"

#

But, as things turned out, there was not another Time Turner to be found in the entire base. Harry told the girls he was going for another look around the place in case they missed something, and they set up a camp in one of the barracks. As soon as they had cleaned stuff with Household Charms, both of them lay out on the mattresses and fell fast asleep. What they didn't know was this was due to Harry who had set out to find a machinery shop. He worked out that if he could heat the chain so much that it came apart in one place, he could slice in some more gold to extend the chain to include a third person. Whilst the extra gold would not be treated with magical enchantments, it would just about do the job if he remembered the passage in the book well enough. He found a few scraps of gold which he melted with an intense beam of heat from his wand, and then beat, shaped and attached to the Time Turner's chain before sealing the ends and cooling it down. One side hung down lower then the other, but Harry hoped that it would get them back to their own time period. Whilst this was all going on, he tried to forget the raging headache he had, the small trickle of blood when he passed and the four times he vomited whiles he was working.

"You had to go and think of something – didn't you?" Hermione shook her head.

"Does that mean…?"

"It means we are all going back" Harry confirmed to Susan. "I remembered something I read in a book once about Time Turners. If the chain breaks, you have to use magical gold to repair it with. If you don't have any, and it is vitally essential that you travel back, you can use small amounts of muggle gold instead" he handed it to Hermione. "Check that it will work"

"Why?" she asked.

"I told you once before, Mione, I do not believe in the No-Win Scenerio"

"You cheated?"

"No" Harry laughed at Susan's question. "I looked at the rules, saw I didn't like them and decided to re-write the guide book"

"You've saved my life, Harry Potter" Susan began, "But I have nothing of value to repay you with. I'll find some way of repaying you for what you have done"

"Just keeping being my friend, and we'll cal it quits" Harry said. "Though I reserve the right to call you if something else comes to mind"

"When we get back, you are in for some serious snogging action" Hermione said.

"Sorry, Mione, but I don't like girls" Susan giggled.

"Damn…" Harry muttered. Then he figured that Susan made a binding vow to repay him in a way he saw fit. "Hang on…"

#

"I'm never going to get used to that" said Harry. He felt sick after so many times going through time, and Susan didn't look took good either. Hermione, having spent most of the third year doing so, looked just fine. It had taken them nearly a week to turn the modified Time Turner back to the point closest to when they had left.

"I think we're back just before this little adventure began" Susan said.

"If there was a bomb hidden in the school to overload the wards, it would had to have been placed before the war kicked off" Harry said. "You two go around the area and tell everybody to get down to the Chamber"

"And what are you going to do?" asked Hermione.

"Try and find it" Harry said. He searched high and low for the bomb, and found it hidden in classroom. With the help of a member of the Muggle Relations office, Harry was able to safely render it inactive for examination. Leaving in the care of a pair of Aurors, Harry called together a meeting of the staff, Head Boy and Girl, the Prefects and certain members of the Ministry in Exile. After a moment's thought, he also included Hermione's parents as well as those who had medical training. With the limited medical supplies which they had, any injured persons may not get the treatment they needed.

#

"I must object, Mr Potter" Fudge said.

"Object to what?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"To the treatment of the injured by non qualified Healers" Fudge said. "It could make matters worse"

"We're not talking about performing major surgery, Minister" Harry said. "Well… not entirely. There is a fully functional operating room down here, and we have a number of people trained in the muggle arts of Healing. There are going to be cases where potions and salves wouldn't help a bit, and this is why I had it built"

"I still say no" Fudge shook his head. "Muggles simply do not have the ability" and a deathly silence hung over the meeting.

"That, Sir, was a racist remark, and I ask you to withdraw it" Harry said slowly taking his wand out from the holster. Fudge looked from the wand, to Harry and then to Madam Bones.

"Don't look at _me_" she said, and calmly put her hands in full view.

"HARRY!" Luna came bursting in through the office door. All heads in the room turned towards her.

"This is a private meeting, Luna" Hermione reminded her.

"I know it is, but there is a group of people at the school gates wanting to come in" the blonde said.

"Who?" Daphne said.

"Voldemort and his Death Eaters" Luna said.

"Tell them to make an appoint-" Harry stopped as he realised what Luna had said. "Oh shit…" he said. "I guess this is it" as an entire orchestra of alarms started sounding off as the wards and defences were assaulted and taken down. "Aurors to their positions, I'd say" and Madam Bones nodded.

"We'll get those not wanting to fight into the bunker" McGonagall assured him.

"Lets go" Harry said.


	17. Strike

**Strike**

What would happen over the next two days would change the curse of Magical Britain forever.

The two sides battled each other for supremacy.

They bled and they died.

Some would live to see the end of the battle, whilst more still would not live to see the end of the hour.

Many years afterwards, people would call this the greatest engagement since the Goblin Rebellion.

When all was said, when all was done and when all was counted and costed - people would say this was when the Winds of Change turned into a hurricane.

This was the battle to end all magical battles.

This was the Final Battle...

#

"What's going on?" asked Pansy.

"Your mother and father seem to think its parents' day" Hermione said dryly. Pansy, despite being Pureblood, got the message plain and clear. She hurried to get Fliss down to the chamber bunker but couldn't find her at all.

"Has anyone seen my sister?" she cried through the general panic there was.

"Here!" Harry came back round the corner he had gone round with Fliss over his shoulder and pounding his back with her tiny fists.

"Lemmie go!" she screamed.

"I can't do that" Harry said quickly - feeling two of the wards come down.

"The bad people are attacking, and we have to hide" Pansy said.

"But Harry said that if anybody tried to attack us, then the best place was close by him" Fliss informed her sister.

"Yes, but you didn't hear what Hermione just said"

"What?"

"Yes" Hermione said. "What?"

"You know... About her big task"

"Oh right!" Hermione nodded. "Harry asked me if you would help us in a big way. We have to know if the people that are supposed to be in the bunker are in there or not. You have to go round and ask everybody their name and then cross that person off on the list"

"Then I can fight?" Fliss asked with hope.

"Well after that, we're going to be too busy to pick you up, but don't worry about that. Once you have all the names, your job will be to make sure that nobody sneaks in who shouldn't be in the bunker" Harry said - another ward fell.

"You mean that I would be in charge?" asked Fliss.

"I guess so" Harry said with a shake of his head.

"What do I do if I see somebody I don't know?" the girl asked.

"You remember those spells we've been teaching you?" Hermione asked her.

"You mean like _Stupefy_?"

"That's the on- Where is Harry?" Hermione looked wildly around.

"Granger...?" Pansy shook her head slowly and pointed to the floor with a mixture of thoughts running through her mind. Fliss had hold of her own wand whilst speaking the stunning spell's name, but it had been pointing at Harry at the exact moment. As he lay on the floor, the saviour of the wizarding world was thinking some dark thoughts concerning Fliss. His first, and best, idea was to skin her and use the girl's flesh as a rug for Grimmauld Place...

"We better get going" Hermione said as she helped him up.

"Yeah. Pansy, please find two Aurors and have them lock that girl up"

"Oh oh" Fliss screamed down the stairs like a bat out of hell.

"Lets go" Hermione said. The pair left and went up the stairs - not knowing it would be a long time before they returned.

#

"How long until you have brought down the final ward?" asked Voldemort.

"A few moments more, My Lord" the curse breaker said. "This last ward is very tricky to remove"

"How so?"

"It has been cast in a language other than English, Latin or Goblin"

"Clever" Voldemort said. He was genuinely impressed with the thought, and he hoped that the person in question could be pursued to join his ranks.

"Done" the man said, and the last ward fell in a flash of emerald green and pure gold.

#

Harry felt the last ward going down and looked to Hermione who had seen the flash as well.

"He's in"

#

"Kill anybody who tries to resist you!" Voldemort ordered. "Leave Potter and the Mudblood girl alive - but kill the rest unless they join you" and the Death Eaters roared up the grounds with elite Goblin troops leading the way. The Dark Lord turned to the group that had remained behind and gave them their orders. These were the most loyal of his ranks - those that had remained in Azkaban through the years or had renounced him publicly but stayed true to his service in reality. The job they had was to fly up to the highest towers and start attacking from there - trapping the defenders between the larger group as they went down.

#

"Steady…" Susan said. She was with a dozen people at the very top of the Gryffindor tower with bags of potions at the ready. When she gave the signal, her group would start throwing them through the windows and allow them to smash on the ground. Once released, the contents would form poisonous clouds or detonate like small explosives. Once they ran out, they had orders from Harry to go down and join the people defending the routes to the bunker. As they waited for the Death Eaters to come in closer, the girl reflected on what might happen to her. As the niece of the head of the DMLE, Susan was in no doubt she was on a capture list. Knowing that her future was going to be as a sex toy for the enjoyment of Death Eaters, she had asked Hannah to kill her if it looked as if she was in danger of being captured. Hannah had agreed only if they went out together, and that was the reason why they had each kept back one of the explosive potions to prevent capture.

"Now?" asked somebody.

"Not yet…" Susan waited one moment more before screaming "NOW!" and bottles were flung out of the Gryffindor dorm rooms and smashed into the ground.

The first shots had been fired.

#

Harry and Hermione had to push through the crowd in order to find McGonagall.

"Mr Potter, may I ask what you are going to do?" the Deputy enquired.

"The first task is to stop Voldemort and his bunch of idiots from escaping. I need you to go down to the warding chamber and make new defences" Harry said.

"If I create new wards, then we will not be able to get help from the outside" she told him.

"I know that, but it is a risk that we will have to take" Harry said. "From what Luna said, Voldemort has turned up with almost all of his followers. If you take into account the treaty with the Goblins…" he shrugged.

"You lot!" Hermione snapped at a handful of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws that were going past them, "Professor McGonagall is going to make new wards in the warding chamber. You are to protect her life at all costs until she is finished" and the group nodded and followed McGonagall as she hurried to the room. As Harry and Hermione went around the defences, they heard explosions mixed with spell fire from both sides. "Level with me, Harry" Hermione said to him as they allowed younger students to pass by. "Are we going to win this?"

"If we do, it will only be by a very narrow margin" Harry shook his head. "I can't stop looking at people and wondering which of them will die because of the actions of so few…" and his girlfriend just nodded in sad agreement.

"What is the plan?"

"We can't keep them out of the castle for long, so we're going to get as many as we can before they reach the courtyard. Once the Death Eaters get there, we'll fall back from the towers and fight in the courtyard, and then pull more and more back until there are only a few places left under our control. By using the secret passages around the school, we should be able to get them from both sides" Harry said as they stepped into the courtyard and waited with others for the battle to reach them.

"Harry Potter!" Griphook called from behind.

"Yeah?" Harry turned to look at the Goblin who was wearing armour with a sword in the sheaf on his belt.

"We stand with you and will fight alongside you. There are twenty four of us who have had training with swords. Send us where you want us, and we will repay the debt that can never be repaid by us to you" Griphook said.

"Thanks" he nodded. "Take half and go to the main doors. The other half are to go to these points here, here and here" Harry pointed the spots out on a map for Griphook to remember. "Just remember to tell your people one thing – they have to go down, and they have to go down hard"

"We shall be victorious" Griphook nodded once before heading off to gather his people and send them off.

"Oh, I don't know about _that_" Harry shook his head.

"Do you think that Voldemort knows about the secret passages running through here?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not sure" said Harry. "I would say it's unlikely, but we can't take any chances. Take a couple of Aurors up to each of the secret passages. Have some Hit Wizards guard both ends of the Honeydukes tunnel corridor. They might sneak up that way and cut us off from helping each other" Hermione would have replied if it were not for the tremor that went through the entire school as the castle took the first hits.

"What happens if we can't beat them?" Hermione asked.

"We get everybody out who shouldn't be here" Harry said. "Once that is done, I'm going to ramp up the power of the shield and explode the castle. The blast will be contained within the shield, reflect back and-"

"Kill us" Hermione said.

"More or less" Harry admitted. "I really don't have time to go into details, Mione. Find me at Gryffindor Tower. See any of the DA – you send them my way" Hermione hugged her boyfriend, kissed him on the lips and hurried away. The Auror cancelled the disillusionment spell on herself and hit Hermione square between the shoulders with a stunner.

"She is going to be pissed" the Auror said as she floated Hermione into the air.

"Well I can't think how much more she'd be if she actually died" Harry replied. "Take her to the bunker, and get her on the first Portkey out of here if it looks as if we are going to lose" and the Auror nodded and took Hermione away. If they won, then there was going to be an almighty row in the morning. But Harry had promised her parents that she would be kept safe, and Harry was just making sure she was just that.

#

"What are we going to do?" asked Parvati as she wiped blood from her forehead. She was trying to keep the Death Eaters from spreading out into the corridors leading off the main entrance.

"Kill the bastards" Dean said as he picked up a fallen Goblin warrior's sword and flung it into the massed ranks and catching a short Death Eater in the chest. He would have said something more but he was flung back into the far wall.

"FALL BACK!" Neville shouted. The rearmost students gave covering fire for the others to get back, sealing doors and corridors with shield charms – giving them enough time to come up with a new plan.

"Is that everybody?" asked Seamus.

"All of us that can make it out" said Parvati.

"Damn…" Seamus watched as Dean was hurried away for treatment. "Help me seal up this corridor. We need to make it into a stone wall with small slits in it"

"Why?" Neville wondered as the trio cast spells quickly.

"We can fire at the Death Eaters, but they can not hit us without wearing themselves down"

"I'll create some poison gas jinxes" Padma said. "That should slow them down after we fall back again"

#

"Report!" Voldemort watched the battle unfold from inside the grounds.

"My Lord" a Death Eater bowed low. "We have managed to get inside the castle, but can not get past the front doors. It is harder than we expected"

"Have the Giants smash the walls surrounding the courtyard. The rubble will create a slope we can use to get inside the castle"

"At once, My Lord"

# # # # #

The huge creatures lumbered up to the castle, raised their vastly oversized clubs and swung them into the walls surrounding the courtyard. The great protections didn't stand a chance against the pounding, and they fell in that area to provide an easy entry point for the attacking forces. Once that was done, the Giants were set to work stopping the spells coming from the towers. They ripped up trees from the forest and hurled them into the base of the towers – wanting nothing more than to smash and kill their targets. When it was made clear what the intentions of the Giants really were, the towers were evacuated and allowed to be broken. Between that and the break in by the Death Eaters, many of the defenders were cut off from any hope of rescue, and all died in a bloodbath or taken away for later enjoyment by Voldemort and his followers.

"_BOMBARDA_" Pansy yelled, and she brought down part of a corridor ceiling on a group of Death Eaters near the kitchens. When the dust had settled, it was clear it would take some heavy lifting or powerful banishing spells to shift it. "That should hold for a while" the girl said.

"Let's get to the end of the corridor, throw the poison and get the hell out of here" said Daphne. The poison would last for a couple of hours, and was designed to work with other uses to funnel the enemy into certain places. This was not possible now, but neither girl knew of it at the time. Once they had finished what they had to do, they went off in search of the nearest fighting they could help out in.

#

"What is the latest?" Harry asked.

"The ward took a lot of doing, but I managed to get them" McGonagall. "They won't last that long, but it should offer us some protection"

"I'll take what we can get" Harry said. "I was not expecting as many Giants as that to be with Voldemort, so he must have been bringing them in before the attack and hiding them inside the Forbidden Forest. It takes very powerful spells to bring them down, and we're limited on people with levels good enough. We could start to burn them alive" he said, but McGonagall just shrugged.

"I wouldn't know how" she said. "Giants are immune to most levels of magic. We could try hitting them with acid. Once hit, they would be more vulnerable to our attacks"

"Worth a try" Harry said. "Get some people onto it" he turned to the others in the Headmaster's office. "Luna. Terry. I want you two to go round to people here, here and here and tell them to make sure that the Death Eaters are funnelled into this area" Harry indicated with the aid of plans of the school drawn up some years before. "Aurors are waiting there to take them out" he watched the pair leave at the run. "Professor, take a couple of squads and reinforce the defence of the courtyard" Harry rubbed at the ache in his forehead. McGonagall left Harry to the task of deciding who would live and who would be sacrificed for the greater good of the free world.

#

Despite the terrific fight put up, Voldemort was slowly winning the battle. The number of dead, dying and injured was mounting up rapidly and the defenders pulled back to try and hold out in new places. Their only stroke of luck was a prisoner that had been taken by Luna. The only good thing to come out of all this fighting was some of the plans made by Voldemort. The Giants would smash much of the school up before Death Eaters poured in and swamped the remaining defenders. With that in mind, Harry, Fred, George and two Aurors went over the deactivated bomb and found ways of increasing the potential explosion radius and power. A diversion attack made allowed the Weasley twins to sneak out and place the bomb into the ground in the direction of the expected assault. A rune made by Padma allowed Harry to remotely detonate the bomb when he wanted.

"You alright?" asked Neville as he limped towards his friend. He had been caught in the leg by a blasting hex, and would have a limp for months to come.

"I'm tired, Nev" Harry told him. "The worst thing is that I can't sleep from thinking of how to save as many lives as possible"

"Well I bring bad news" Neville said. "There is talk of asking you to surrender to Voldemort"

"WHAT?"

"Its true, Harry" Neville said. "They figure it might be better to become his slaves instead of dying"

"I can't say I am totally shocked" Harry shook his head. "If Voldemort can send more fighters then we can take out… Find Myrtle and pass her a message for me"

"Sure thing" Neville nodded. "What is it?"

"Dunkirk" to which Neville couldn't fathom the meaning. After Neville left, Harry leaned back in the chair, closed his eyes and sighed in a mix of anger and pain. Voldemort, as far as Harry could tell, was getting angry at a number of things, and the pain Harry was getting was too much to handle.

"Harry?" a small hand shook his arm. Fliss had woken Harry from the first sleep he had had in over a day and a half.

"You shouldn't be here, Fliss" he said.

"I know that" she rolled her eyes in a cute manner, "But I saved you some orange juice" she offered him the small glass she held.

"Well…" Harry mocked glared at him. "I suppose it is alright" and Fliss smiled – something that made Harry's heart go warm.

"It's alright, you two!" she called, and the office opened and admitted Charity and Bubbles.

"Does your father or mother know you are out?" Harry asked.

"He is… busy" said Charity.

"Very busy" said Bubbles.

"Well I suppose if one of you is here…" Harry said. To his surprise, Fliss sat in his lap and the two young Goblins sat either side of him. "Are you three scared by any chance?" he asked the trio.

"A little bit" said Bubbles.

"Just a little" Charity added.

"You three are going to be safe – no matter what" Harry assured the three young girls. "I promise you that" he kissed each of their heads in turn.

#

"I wonder where they've got to" Griphook was worried. "Somebody said they were seen in this direction" he added as Daphne opened the door, got halfway through and then stopped.

"Look at the them" she giggled quietly, and allowed Griphook to see past her. Harry had gone to sleep with Fliss, Charity and Bubbles asleep on his lap and in his sides respectively.

"Leave them" Griphook smiled. "All four need as much sleep as they can get" and Daphne closed the door and the pair went off to do other stuff.

# # # # #

"Did you find Fliss?" asked Pansy. She had been worried about her sister, and one theory was that she had been kidnapped.

"Yes" said Griphook. "She is now part of Harry Potter's harem" and he enjoyed the look of horror on Pansy's face.

"She's nodded off on Harry's lap. He's sleeping as well with Griphook's daughters on either side of him. Its actually quite funny" Daphne said.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah" Daphne grabbed a Pensieve. "Just have a look…"

"Oh Merlin…" Pansy laughed. "He looks so cute like that!" she added. Apart from being asleep, Harry had somehow got Fliss's woollen hat perched at an angle on his head - the two Goblins had an arm over Harry's chest as they slumbered. "Come on" she said at last, "We've got work to do" and they went to do more work to repel the Death Eaters as much as possible when they attacked at dawn that morning.

#

Voldemort had fed them information that was false, and a number of his Death Eaters were already inside the school. Their task was to take the defenders from behind during the main assault and to stop anybody from getting to them. It was, ironically enough, almost the same plan as Harry had come up with. Not knowing this, Lavender and Parvati were walking around the ground floor of the castle checking that the enchantments and poison gas jinxes were all in good order.

"I feel creeped out" Lavender said.

"Yeah" Parvati replied. "I suppose that is to be expected when you are surrounded by a few thousand evils bastards and evil creatures" she added.

"And that is just the students and staff" Lavender laughed, looked to her left and saw her friend had stopped walking. "Parv?" the girl turned around to see Parvati pointing her wand at her. "What the hell?" she demanded.

"You!" Parvati sneered. "Always thinking you can be better than me. Always doing what you shouldn't be. Always doing the opposite…"

"This isn't funny, Parvati"

"I know it isn't" the other girl replied. "Hiding in corners when you thought I wasn't paying attention…" and Parvati winked at Lavender who knew her friend had not joined the dark side. "And, as I said before, always doing the direct opposite of what you have been told. Now STAND STILL!" and Lavender dropped to the floor as two curses soared over her head and hit two figures that had been out of place. Parvati had noticed them under charms she could just about pick up – from years of playing hide and seek.

"_Expelliarmus_" Lavender rolled onto her back and fired the spell before getting yanked to her feet.

"Run!" Parvati said. The two girls ran back they way they had come – screaming as loudly as possible to gather attention.

#

"Mr Potter!" McGonagall nudged him awake.

"Warizet?" Harry asked sleepily.

"The Death Eaters have got inside the castle and are attacking us now" the deputy said. Harry snapped his eye open and was fully awake as he shook the three girls awake also.

"Take them to the bunker and keep them safe, Professor" Harry said. They could all hear the sounds of heavy fighting from many parts of the castle, and he wanted to keep the girls safe from harm.

"But we want to stay" Fliss said.

"GO!" Harry shouted. Fliss went wide eyed and followed McGonagall. "Attention everybody. The Death Eaters have gained entry into the castle. All persons capable of fighting are to take down the enemy at all costs" and Harry left the Headmaster's office to face destiny.

#

"LEFT FLANK!" an Auror cried, and was then cut in two by a severing spell. Spells flew in every direction, the light battled the dark and the dark was winning. Most of the giants had been killed by the bomb that had been modified to go off when Harry wanted. The dead and the dying were mounting up, and there was no place left to go except to retreat.

"Harry" Pansy called out. "They've got pretty much the entire castle. Some of it they've just left, but we've only got the bunker" and Harry shook his head.

"Get everybody out of here" he said at last. "We'll hold the line for as long as possible" and Pansy nodded and ran down to the bunker and had everybody start Portkeying out of the castle. Although the wards still stood, the destination was inside the boundaries which permitted the travel. They would be going to the bottom of the lake where the Mer-People had been constructing a place out of the bottom for them to go to if needed.

"We've got a problem" said Daphne.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked her. "We've got enough Portkeys for everybody"

"Not now" the girl said. "Some of the Portkeys have been damaged beyond repair. It takes a while to create Portkeys, and the bunker is unstable through so many being used so quickly in such a small and confined place"

"So that means…"

"Somebody has to stay behind" Daphne confirmed.

"Well…" said Dean. "Nice day for an early morning swim"

"I'm staying as well" said Seamus.

"And I will stay" Susan said. She was hoping to get together with Harry after seeing how big he was. Perhaps Hermione would be interested in a time share option with him.

"Is that everybody?" Harry looked at the last group getting ready to go out.

"Everyone but the Lovegood girl" said Daphne.

"Don't tell me she's dead" Harry went pale. He counted the girl as one of his best friends, and he didn't want her to get hurt as much as was possible.

"She didn't check out with any of the other groups, and she isn't accounted for in the number of deaths" Daphne said. "We think she may have been captured" she added.

"To use her Seer powers to find exactly where I am" Harry shook his head. "Get going" he nodded at the last group. A moment later, and the last group left the bunker for the caves under the lake. Harry, Seamus, Dean and Susan stood in the now deserted rooms and could hear the sounds of the Death Eaters getting past the wards protecting the way down. "Come on" Harry said, "This isn't over yet" and the four of them walked up to the corridor that had a huge door at the end – the last line of defence.

"Sounds like the hounds of hell are here to take us" Dean saw the door bulging outwards from the assault it was taking. It burst open and a few dozen Death Eaters poured in.

"Then I shall see you in hell, my friends" Harry said. The four wands came up, picked targets…

…and fired…

**A/N:**

**Right, ladies and gentlemen, just want to explain why there has been a slight delay in updates. My grandmother fell over and broke her foot and ankle and is housebound for the next few weeks. I've stayed with her to help out and will do so for some time to come. Updates, therefore, will be on a reduced scale until such time as I am at my own place.  
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**On the plus side, however, I have a laptop with me which is allowing me to write the updates and at least allows me to have a break after this is all over. Updates for Winds of Change, Hermione's Secret and Escape will be released as and when I am able to get to a PC.  
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**Hope you like the latest update for this fic. With time on my hands, Ch 18 is halfway done already and I'm really going all out on it. The final chapter will have an old Harry (as I sometimes do) but it will be in a sad way and a way that will have even the most hardened of hearts breaking...  
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**Normal Service Will Be Resumed As Soon As Possible  
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**Pixel  
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	18. The Line Is Held

**The Line Is Held  
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"Stay still, you little bitch!" the Death Eater backhanded Luna in the jaw – breaking bones and a tooth.

"Let me go…!" Luna struggled to get out of the grip but to no avail. Being a Seer, Luna knew Voldemort wanted her skills to find and track down Harry so he could kill him. She would, of course, try to resist him for as long as possible, but Luna knew that was not going to be for very long. There was, however, one thing she could do…

"What the…" the Death Eater dropped her and watched as Luna started to convulse violently.

#

"What happened?" asked Hermione.

"You got hit by a long lasting stunner" said Daphne. "Harry had you taken away to recover, but we had to move to these underwater caves"

"I want to see him" Hermione yawned. She stretched her aching limbs and shook them around a little.

"He's a little busy right now" Daphne told her. "I'll get him to come the moment he has-" she was cut off as Fliss came running to the part of the cave the pair were in.

"Is Harry going to come soon?" asked the girl. She was in tears as she hugged her sister tightly.

"Well didn't that go well?" asked Pansy.

"_Where is he_?" Hermione hissed at Daphne.

"Luna went missing before the evacuation was completed. We'd lost a number of Portkeys, and Harry, Susan Bones, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan stayed behind to find her.

"Get me a Portkey this minute!" Hermione thundered.

"We can't" said Pansy. "The part of the lake we are in prevents outbound Portkey use" and Hermione grew angry with Harry. How could he put her before himself? Why did he have to think of everybody else before himself? Was this some part of protecting herself? Did he not know that she wanted the danger? That she wanted to share and face the danger head on by his side?" A soft spot took hold and eventually dissolved the anger that had built up in her. This was good as Fliss was sporting three toy cars on her head, Daphne had antlers and Pansy was wearing a tutu and dancing the bolero – all from the accidental magic that had channelled from her thoughts. "He must have known he wouldn't be coming back without everybody" she shook her head.

"Where are you going?" asked Pansy as Hermione got off the cave floor, looked around and started walking.

"To find Harry"

# # # # #

The fight had been brutal, but the four of them had won the fight and had taken the ground – or rather the corridor. Each and every one of them was covered in blood – some theirs and some from the Death Eaters – and there was so much, in fact, that it pooled around their feet like a small pond.

"You guys okay?" Harry asked as he repaired his glasses. The others nodded, but a good look would have told the difference. Seamus had a broken nose and his left leg, under the knee, was cut to ribbons. Dean was nursing a broken arm which hung loosely by his side. As he looked at the thing, he took it with his good hand and tucked it between his hip and his jeans. He also had cuts and bruising all over his body. Susan had come out of the fight with a broken nose, two black eyes, quite serious looking facial injuries, deep cuts down her left side from shoulder to ankle, a broken rib or two plus a smashed right hand. That was what Harry could _see_. The true extent of injuries could run even deeper.

"We should go after Luna" said Dean.

"Lets get Seamus to a safe place first" Harry said.

"I'm alright" the boy said.

"You'll be dead if you don't let us get you some place safe and quiet" Susan told him firmly – wincing from the pain that exploded in her face.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_" Harry muttered, and Seamus lifted into the air and hovered at waist height. "We'll get you into one of these classrooms" he added. They crept out of the bunker corridor and to the unused classrooms on the other side of the crossing corridor.

"The leg looks a little terrible" said Susan as she tried to do the best she could. Dean had picked out the bits of glass from her face, and then healed the cuts as good as it was possible in the time they had.

"What can you do?" asked Seamus.

"Me?" Susan asked him in surprise. "I can heal a few cuts and bruises… Nothing like this!"

"Susan" Harry said calmly to her. "I know you can do this. Dean is looking for revenge for the time Seamus poked his West ham poster, and I'd probably cut his head off or something" and Susan gave a weak smile.

"I'll give it a try" she nodded. "I'd like to try this with a Deep Sleeping potion, but we've got nothing with us. I'll have to cut away the damaged skin very carefully, put a bandage on for a while and hope we can get him to a proper Healer or something" Susan said - telling Dean to push the nearest desk together as Harry put Seamus on the improvised operating table.

"Is there anything you need?" he asked the girl.

"I'll need some Firewhiskey, warm water and some clean bandages" Susan said.

"Wait here" and Harry returned a few minutes later with the needed items from the scattered debris in the bunker.

"Is this going to hurt?" asked Seamus.

"Of course" said Susan, and then hit him with the full body immobilising spell. "Sorry" she shrugged. Dean stood guard at the doorway whilst Harry helped Susan to gently cut away the ruined jeans. The pair worked well together – having both picked up tips from books they had read during their recent adventure with Hermione. "And now for the tricky part" Susan muttered. After the blood was washed away, Susan took the Firewhiskey and poured it over the open wounds. Seamus screamed through his closed mouth at the stinging and burning sensatiosn that he could feel. Harry put the bandages on after Susan had used a searing hot beam of heat that cautherised the damaged arteries. The badages were also soaked in the Firewhiskey as the best way they had of stopping infection from settling in.

"Is that it?" asked Dean, looking back to the makeshift operating theatre.

"For now" replied Susan.

"What do we do now?" Dean asked Harry as the other boy released Seamus from the jinx he had been under.

"We leave Seamus behind" Harry replied.

"But he'll die!" Dean protested.

"And so could Luna if we drag Seamus along with us. He'll just slow us down, and we need to move as quickly as we can" Harry replied. "This is notsomething we can argue about now. We've got to move _now_"

"He's right, Dean" said Seamus. "I'll slow you down, and you have to get Luna before anything happens to her"

#

After Luna had stopped having apparent fits, the Death Eater dragged her down the corridors and towards where Voldemort was waiting. She blasted debris and bodies from both sides away as she did the journey - and Luna didnt help by struggling as much as she could. If the worst came to the worse, she'd try to get to her mother's old and and kill herself using a blasting charm to the head. She had kept the wand after her mother had died - though it was supposed to be buried with ehr body. Luna had kept it all these years, and only Harry and Hermioen knew of it. It was, given the nature of her mother, a rather unique type. The wood was of both Birch and Oak - with a power core of pure Unicorn mane and Mermaid hair. Luna's own wand was Holly with the heart string of a Dragon - no Crumple Horned Snorkacks being around at the time.

"You are going to sing soon, my pretty girl" she cackled.

"Not if I can help it" Luna threw all of her weight into the attack and got both of them to the floor - freeing Luna as the pair went down. The two went at it hand to hand until Luna was overcome once more and dragged to her feet by her hair.

"You'll regret that" said the Death Eater - punching Luna in the side of the head and swinging her around like a weight on a rope.

"As much as you'll regret that" said another voice. The Death Eater looked up and saw Harry, Dean and Susan holding position on the annexe corridor leading to the Great Hall. "Let Luna go and surrender now" Harry's wand tip sparked with energy.

"Ah... Potter and his merry band of idiotic followers" the Death Eater pulled Luna in front of her to use as a human shield.

"I'm telling you to let her go this instant. Put you wand down and get on your knees" Harry knew that Voldemort was nearby, and that so would other Death Eaters who would be able to assist.

"Get him" said Dean.

"I can't get a clean shot" Harry muttered back. He looked hard for a way to get the Death Eater, but there was no way of hitting him without harming Luna. The girl looked down the corridor at him and saw the situation he faced. After being so limp, the Death Eater had released her grip before taunting the trio some more. Summoning all of her strength into the attempt, Luna struggled once more and bit the woman's hand which held her wand - the item dropping to the floor with a clatter.

"Now!" she called. Harry brought his wand down, looked at Luna who was fighting off the older witch and shook his head. "DO IT!" and with a look and a shake of his head that told them all he wished it didn't end in such a manner, Harry's wand snapped up as he took aim.

"_BOMBARDA_!" he yelled. The spell formed at the tip of Harry's wand, gained the power required and left the wand and went for the target. It hit Luna, burned and tore a hole through her body and took out the Death Eater holding her - the body flying off and hitting a door as Luna dropped to the ground. The trio rushed to Luna's body but found that she was dying from the spell Harry had put through her, and that she would never survive. "Luna, I'm so sorry it had to end like this..." tears ran down Harry's face as he spoke. Blood was spat out of Luna's mouth with every dying breath she took, but the words came out as a choking gargle. Instead, the grey eyes met Harry's green ones and absolved him of blame and granted him forgiveness for killing her. With a slight shudder, Luna's eyes went unfocused and the girl died in front of their very selves.

"_Damm_..." Dean whispered.

" What have I become?What have I done?" Harry asked - eyes looking at Luna's lifeless corpse. "My God, what have I done?"

"Done what you always do - turn death into a fighting chance. She knew what had to be done" Susan said. "There was nothing you could have done to save her. She knew that, and she also knew that the only way to Voldemort was to take out the Death Eater holding her captive. She understood the price that had to be paid. The price we all have to pay as soldiers in this war" but the words were of no comfort to Harry.

"_Accio Cloak_" and an Auror's cloak zipped into Harry's hand. Folding her hands into her lap, he closed the still forgiving eyes and then draped the cloak over most of her body. "When we go through that door" Harry said as eh straightened up, "You can take n anybody you want except for Voldemort. That bastard is mine. Do you hear me?"

"But..." Dean was overrode by Harry's shouting.

"I FUCKING MEAN IT!" he readied his wand and crossed to the doors. "One... two... three... Go!"

#

She couldn't see any danger, but that did not rule out the possibility of there actually being some around. The first thing he did was to dry herself off with a Quick Dry charm, and she felt better now that she wasn't soaked to the skin. Hermione had forced the Mer-People to show her a way out of the cave system and had swum far enough for tapping into the ancient magic in the castle and got herself transported from the lake to the bunker.

"Who is that?" called a voice.

"Who is that?" replied Hermione.

"Seamus" the voice replied. Hermione closed the distance between her and an open classroom with her wand out.

"Tell me something that only the real Seamus would know" she ordered.

"Harry has a hankie that has your smell on it" Seamus replied.

"Good"

"Tell _me_ something that Hermione Granger would know"

"You once saw the Patil Twins go down on each other after winning a binding bet with the pair of them"

"Its you" Hermione went in and saw Seamus propped up on a chair with his damaged leg on another.

"Harry and the others went after Luna" he said to her.

"Did he say where?" Hermione asked him.

"He might have said something, but I was in a lot of pain so I might have missed them saying it"

"Are you in any pain?" Hermione asked.

"A lot" said Seamus with a grimace.

"Did they give you anything for it?" Hermione asked as she looked at the blood stained bandages.

"They had nothing on them"

"Hang on a moment" Hermione fished around in her pockets and pulled out a nearly empty bottle of No Pain potion - developed by the Weasley twins. "There are only a few drops left in this thing, but it should help you somewhat" and Seamus sighed as he took the remaining dregs of the potion.

"Man is that better" he said sleepily.

"Are you going to be alright on your own?"

"I'm not sure" Seamus replied seriously. "The leg is in a right state, and I don't know if it ever will be"

"I'll try to help as best as I-"

"Get going after Harry" Seamus shook his head. "Dean has a broken arm, and Susan has been roughed up something bad. He needs all the help he can get, and I'm not going to be any help. Get going"

#

"Man does that hurt..." Harry groaned. The headache was terrible, and it took Harry a few moments to realise that he was not in the Great Hall. He couldn't remember how he had got to what looked like the library, and he got to his feet and looked around.

"So you are alive..." hissed a familiar voice."So much the better" Voldemort said.

"_Stupif_-"

"Not so fast, Harry" Voldemort waved a finger at him like a naughty boy being told off. "Welcome, Harry Potter, to your death" Voldemort waved his hand in a grandiose manner. "I brought you into my mind so that we might talk without being interrupted"

"You could have tidied up around here" Harry said.

"We are both very much alike - you and me" Voldemort stood up from the desk he was leaning on. "We are both orphans from circumstances that were not of our parents making. My mother died at the same age as yours did. I also seek to gain revenge for the death of my mother"

"My parents were nothing like yours. They were good and kind people, and their only 'crime' was to oppose you"

"I told you once before, and I shall tell you again" Voldemort said to Harry - getting closer as he spoke. "There is no such thing as good and evil. There is only power and those too weak to seek it"

"The only power I seek is the power to defeat you. If you agree to surrender here and now, I will promise on my magic that you will get a fair and equal trial" Harry said.

"Why should I do that? I control the courts. You don't realise that your resistance, pitiful as it is, has already ended. Tell your people to surrender, and I will allow most of them to live" Voldemort came closer to Harry. Harry brought his wand up to take Voldemort out, but the Dark Lord held up a warning hand. "Have you forgotten that you are in my mind? Killing me inside here would only kill yourself. On the occurrence of my death, of course, I shall be reborn by use of the Horcrux that is inside your mind"

"My mind?"

"You didn't know?" Voldemort seemed pleased. "When I was defeated by the old protections put in place by your mother, a part of me was placed inside your mind. There is a long and difficult explanation, but suffice to say that I'll be on my way to life long after yours has ceased to go on"

"So being able to speak to snakes was something put into my mind? Your soul was inside of me?" and Harry laughed at the Dark Lord who was surprised and taken aback by the reaction.

"I would not find that funny, Harry Potter" he said.

"Normally I would agree" Harry wiped a tear from his eye. "But what you don't realise is that I have been in your mind which has been open to me" and Harry took great joy in seeing the horror that came over Voldemort's featureless face. "Let's go some place roomier"

#

"Welcome to my world" Harry said to Voldemort.

"If you don't join me, then I will have to kill you"

"It's a grand day for it" Harry replied. "Shall we dance?" and the battle began.

#

"Is he in there alone?" Hermione asked. A black shield prevented Susan, Dean and Hermione from going in to assist Harry in whatever battle he was fighting.

"Completely" said Susan. "He went in and the bubble popped up. I think he tapped into the wards to stop us from getting hurt" she added.

"There is no way to get in until it goes. That happens when Harry has won, or the spell ends when he is no longer..." Dean fell silent.

"I'm going to try and get the Aurors up here" Susan said.

"We can't get down there" said Hermione. "Oh... I just wish we could be in there with him" she added.

"So say we all" Dean muttered.

"Can we get in through the windows?" asked Hermione.

"I had a good look around, but I don't think we can. They look to be covered by the same spell" Susan told her. Hermione blew out her breath in frustration and started pacing the short corridor - stepping over Luna's covered body as she did so. Her mind worked overtime as she tried to think of a way that they could get inside and help Harry. A way that two witches and a wizard could use to get inside. A way that two witc...

"Dobby!"

#

"And you thought I was going to be a walk in the park" Harry mocked Voldemort through the pain. "What do you want to try next?"

"I have thought about killing you outright, but that would not be so much pleasurable for me" Voldemort laughed. "And I am sure that your friends would not find it all that good as well"

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked as he dodged a spell and fired one off of his own.

"Kill you"

"Yes, Tommy, I think we've established that... What are you going to do after you kill me and take over completely?"

"I thought about taking over the entire country and cleanse it of the muggles that live like parasites" the reply came.

"And after that?"

"The world"

"So nothing too big..." Harry created a stone wall on the quick which took the blunt of a Killing Curse. "Don't you worry that after you have done that, one of your followers will try to bump you off and take over for themselves?" he asked.

"I would know long before that ever happened" Voldemort sent three blasting hexes in quick succession.

"Can you be sure of that?" Harry rolled to the right and fired off three spells of his own.

"One can never be certain of anything except those events concerning your death" Voldemort taunted.

"Well its a good day to die, if you know the reasons why" Harry dodged another killing curse before firing one back.

"Resorting to underhand tactics?" Voldemort asked him with a cold laugh.

"Only when the situation is desperate" Harry said. "And there is something you don't even know"

"Oh?"

"Look behind you"

"As if I would fall victim of that trick"

"Worth a try..."

"There is one thing that I regret in having to kill you" Voldemort and Harry circled each other with wands pointing at the opposing person.

"Just the one thing?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"If you had joined me all those years ago..." Voldemort said. "We could have made a partnership the likes of which have never been seen before"

"Never in a million years..." Harry said. "If you are going to kill me, will you answer a question or two of mine, please? he asked.

"If I am able to do so" Voldemort laughed. It was not going to cost him anything to do so, and he would gain everything by doing the request.

"What happens if you win?"

"You would die"

"And if I win?"

"In that _unlikely_ event" Voldemort said, "I would presume one of my followers would exact some sort of revenge against your first child"

"Easy to get around that" Harry circled around a little bit more. He wanted Voldemort in exactly the right spot.

"How?"

"Adopt"

"Oh" Voldemort was surprised, "I'd never have thought of that one"

"You know what I had planned?" Harry asked the Dark Lord.

"No, but I'm simply dying to know..."

"I had a speech all written out in the event I actually faced you. It went into the morals of defending against an all out attack. Into the roles of the attacker regarding the attacked. It was rather nice, you know. But... after seeing all these bodies littered around the school... I find it degrading and demeaning. So, I'm afraid, you'll not hear my big speech"

"Well I suppose you'd better kill me" Voldemort sneered.

"You're a remarkable man, Thomas Riddle, so I suppose I better had" Harry's wand came up. "_Accio Godric Gryffindor's Sword_" and the sword flew into the air and was lodged at high speed into Voldemort's body. Just as the blade pierced his flesh, the dark Lord hit Harry with a weakened cutting charm. The body of what was once a man dropped to the ground with the sword sticking out of his back like a flagpole. "Got him" Harry spat out blood, "...Bastard..."

#

"When is this going to end?" asked Susan.

"When one side has beaten the other" Dean replied.

"I just hope that it is Potter that wins" said an Auror. Hermione had managed to get a couple up by the same method as she had done so. The group, now numbering twelve, was made up of five Aurors, Hermione, Dean and Susan, Professor McGonagall, Madam Bones, Fudge and Poppy Pomfrey.

"I think we all do" said Hermione acidly.

"What do we do if You-Know-Who wins?" asked Fudge.

"I'm going to piss myself and run away" Dean said dryly.

"Got to do the best we can" said Hermione. "That might include standing and fighting" she added.

"We've seen too much already" Susan's Aunt said.

"And we're going to see more - one way or another" said Hermione. "Harry is either dead or captured. I know you'd expect me to say otherwise" she saw the look of astonishment from the others, "But there are going to be dozens of Death Eaters there as well as Voldemort. He can't win agai-" she stopped speaking as the black bubble exploded and vanished. The doors to the Great Hall opened up by themselves and they looked through the smoke of the battle.

"Good grief..." Pomfrey said. "Surely nobody could survive something like _that_" she added.

"Something is there" McGonagall pointed to a dark shadow that seemed to be a pile of something.

"_Clearus Awayus_" Hermione said. The dust swirled quickly and then vanished which left them with a clear view of what had happened. "_HARRY!_"

"Oh, dear God" Dean groaned as Susan stood next to him with a look of shock and horror on her face.

"_DON'T JUST DO STAND THERE! FUCKING DO SOMETHING_!" Hermione yelled at Pomfrey who rushed to do what she could.


	19. The Light And The Dark

**The Light And The Dark**

"Despite what little evidence there is, Miss Granger, walking up and down my Hospital Wing will not help your friend" Pomfrey said.

"Just help him" Hermione said. Her wand was still drawn three hours after they had found Harry in the Great Hall. In that time, Aurors, Hit Wizards and others had gone round and started house clearing the many rooms. Even Hermione's father had drawn his old service pistol and had gone hunting for those that wished harm on the son he never had been blessed with.

"As you wish" Pomfrey said. As Hermione looked around, other injured persons were being treated there before taken to St Mungos for further treatment. Harry would have gone as well, but Hermione and the surviving members of the DA had vetoed that idea. Despite Voldemort being dead and the war being over, not every Death Eater was accounted for and, therefore, some were presumed to be in hiding to make random attacks in the future. The Ministry was retaken with the loss of just a handful of people – but inflicting heavy losses on the side of evil.

"Dobby!" Hermione called the elf to her. "I am going round on a walk of the castle. If any Death Eaters burst in here and try to do anything – _take them out_" Dobby nodded and took position in the doorway.

#

"What is the situation with the building?" asked Fudge.

"West and South wings are completely demolished" McGonagall said. "They're nothing more then stone shells. The outer courtyard is gone – it's just rubble. Rest of the school is in a right state. It is going to take months to repair it all" she added.

"Right now every capable person is fighting in mopping up actions throughout the country" Madam Bones said. "Repairs will have to take a back seat. Can you still provide facilities for the survivors?" she asked.

"Not really" said McGonagall. "The worst cases of the wounded are being sent straight to St Mungos as you know, but it is the rest of us I am worried about. A lot of people have lost their homes and have no other place to go. From what we know, You-Know-Who destroyed anything that might be of use to us – including vast stockpiles of food and other supplies. We simply don't have enough to deal with everybody" she sighed.

"You suggest we start killing off the worst cases?" Fudge asked.

"I don't see we have any other option" McGonagall said. "This is purely a mathematics game, and we should be doing what we can to survive" the woman shuddered at the thoughts she had expressed.

"I'll order the Healers to stop treating the ones with little chance" Fudge said.

"I don't think so" Hermione said. The adults turned to see her standing in the doorway with Hannah, Susan, Dean, Pansy, Daphne and a couple of Goblins behind her.

"Miss Granger?" McGonagall blinked. "Seeing as you overheard us talking, you should know our situation is desperate. I know it is a terrible thing to say and do but we must do this to ensure we survive" and Hermione took all of three seconds to think.

"In that case, I am hereby executing my authority to override the system" she said. "Please place Professor McGonagall in a suitable holding location"

"What are you doing, Miss Granger?" Madam Bones asked as she saw McGonagall being taken away at wand point.

"She went missing for fifteen minutes an hour ago" Hermione said. "Under those circumstances, Harry authorised the castle to take orders from the DA _only_ if I overrode the system"

"And that is?"

"Secondary protocol" Hermione said. "For the moment, seeing as Harry is unable to work as Headmaster, I call the shots around here. I want a full sweep of the castle for McGonagall and I want her taken to the Hospital Wing"

"I'll organise it myself" Bones left in a hurry.

"Congratulations on your new job, Miss Granger" Fudge said with a grin.

"Congratulate me after we have recovered our dead" Hermione said sadly. "We won the war, but the fights are not over yet. I know you are a busy man, Minister, and so I won't keep you"

#

"What happened?" Harry coughed. Pomfrey turned from where she was treating another person to see Harry coming round and trying to get up.

"Stay down, Mr Potter" said the nurse. Harry, though, compromised by getting into a sitting position.

"What happened?" he repeated. "Where is Hermione?" Harry looked around.

"I assure you that she is safe" said Pomfrey, running several spells over him in quick succession. "As for the castle, I'll let somebody else tell you about that. For now, you just lie down and rest. You've been through a lot" she gave Harry several potions to drink. Harry looked around and saw dozens and dozens of badly wounded people from the fight. A lot of people were too injured to be moved to St Mungos, so they had had to remain at the shattered Hogwarts.

"You need the bed" Harry said, and pushed the covers back and stood shakily up on his own feet. "I know what you are going to say" Harry forestalled Pomfrey's objection, "But I'll go straight to my own bed. You need all the space you can get" and he walked shakily away.

"That boy will be the death of me…" she watched him go off before attending to her other charges.

#

"We've rounded up the last of the Death Eaters and sent them to Azkaban to await questioning. We're going to Truth Serum the lot of them to find out who took the mark willingly. Anybody who died whilst under a spell shall have their names cleared and no blame put upon them" Fudge said.

"With only the Floo working, we're not able to get everybody away from here" McGonagall said. They had found her tied up, stunned and gagged in a broom closet on the forth floor. "I suggest we move everybody not too badly injured via the Hogwarts Express" and the others in the room agreed. They had gathered in the fire damaged Headmaster's office that still had the heavy stench of smoke and burning inside.

"If we could change the seating into beds, most people could get some rest during the trip" Neville said.

"I know I could sleep for the rest of time" Dean said. "Or until half past nine – which ever comes first" he added thoughtfully.

"Can the school be repaired?" asked Hermione.

"There was a lot of old magic in this place" McGonagall looked out of a window where smoke could be seen drifting over the castle look a blanket. "Oh, we can repair it after we get enough time to do it, but it will never be the same. Over a thousand years of magical history has gone up in flames…" she turned away from the sight of a line of defeated Goblins being led out into the grounds for execution. Griphook had thought it most fitting that they would get just four feet of Hogwarts each, and that they should die on the field of battle.

"I'm just glad that we stockpiled a lot of supplies in different places" said Hermione. "If Harry had not thought about every last detail, those bastards would still have won" she shook her head. She heard the door open but ignored the person coming in the room. Aurors and other officials kept coming in to give the latest reports.

"Speaking of which, I think Mr Potter is-"

"Wondering why you are sitting in my chair, Professor McGonagall" and everyone turned to see Harry supporting himself against the doorframe and shaking from the huge drain on his magical core. Dried blood caked his face and covered his clothing as he made short steps towards the desk.

"Harry…" Hermione rushed into his arms and gave him a hug that would have put Molly Weasley to shame. "You shouldn't be up out of bed" she whispered as tears flowed down her face and onto his stained clothing.

"There are people in worse condition than me" he said, kissing her softly. He looked over her shoulder and caught McGonagall looking at him open mouthed in astonishment – something shared by nearly everybody else. "So how many have we lost?" he asked.

"Too many" Susan said.

"Get some people to start making a list of survivors" Harry said as he took the chair from McGonagall. "Better have it enchanted so it changes when people are found or die" he added grimly. "Get the Hogwarts Express here as quickly as possible and started evacuating the students and surviving adults at once"

"We could start moving some people to Hogsmeade now" said Professor Flitwick. "It would cut down the risk of people being injured by falling masonry" and others nodded.

"Do it" Harry said. "If anything needs to be done, Professor McGonagall is the one to see about it"

"What about you?" asked Fudge.

"I will not leave this building until everybody else has left" Harry said – hissing through the pain that shot up his spine.

"But-"

"This is still my school, Minister" Harry glared at him. "Besides" he said with a softer tone, "Somebody has to turn off the lights. We'll meet again in four or five hours" and the meeting broke up.

"I thought I'd lost you at one point" Hermione sobbed into Harry's torn jumper.

"Nah…" Harry smiled at her, "You'd be so lucky. Pomfrey wanted me to stay in the Hospital Wing, but there are plenty of others that need the bed more than me. I told her that I'd get to my own bed and stay there for a couple of hours – rising only to do important things"

"I'll help you"

"Hold your horses, Hermione Granger. I think you need some rest too. As Headmaster, I am going to ensure that you get it" and it was something Hermione was only too happy to comply with. They fell into the bed after kicking off shoes and taking off their jumpers and slept in each others arms.

#

Before the Hogwarts Express left on the return trip to London where Portkeys and Floo travel was dealt with, there were a few things to take care of. Humans, Goblins, Centaurs and Mer-Folk alike sat and built coffins for the dead. Only those that had been on the light side received coffins. Those of Voldemort's forces that had died in the fighting had their endings recorded, a picture taken for history before taken away for cremation and their ashes scattered between the UK and the Falkland Islands.

"I half expect her to wake up and say she's been talking to some creature by means of dreaming" Harry said. He gazed down on Luna's broken body that had been recovered from where it had been left. Despite pleading from Pomfrey that he was not well enough, Harry said he wanted to take care of the girl personally – his penance for what he had done to her. She'd been cleaned of all the grime and blood and the hole in her chest from Harry's spell had been closed. After that, Harry, Susan and Dean had dressed her in full formal Ravenclaw robes and put on her clip-on radish earrings before sealing the coffin with big brass and gold screws.

"I saw Susan's memory of what happened" said Hermione, putting an arm around her boyfriend. "I saw Dean's as well. If you had put your wand down for just a second, she'd be dead already. If not, she'd be used as a plaything for the Death Eaters. At least this way she died with honour and she died free. There was nothing that you could have done to save her" she said.

"You keep saying that, Hermione, but it doesn't make it any better in my mind" Harry said as the coffin floated off the table and joined the line of others waiting for his word. "I could have gone for a ricochet shot off the walls. I could even have turned myself in, got close and killed the Death Eater using my back up wand – but I didn't. I looked into her eyes as I fired. I looked into her eyes as it hit her. I looked into her eyes and saw her die" he started to cry once more. "Do you know what the last thing Luna saw on this plane of existence was?" he asked.

"What?"

"Me" he replied. "The last thing that she ever saw was her murderer. And you know what? As she looked into _my_ eyes, she gave _me_ forgiveness for what I had had to do" he felt Hermione hold him close until he calmed down.

"Mr Potter?" Griphook looked round the corner of the room they had prepared Luna in. "We're all ready" and, with a nod and spell from Harry, the lines of coffins moved down the debris littered corridors, into the grounds and out of the school to the train station in the village. As they did so, each one's flag flapped slightly in a small breeze. Each coffin was draped with the student's house crest. For those who were not students, Harry had ordered the Hogwarts crest on them. Those Goblins that had died would also travel home via the train and had crossed swords and a set of scales on the lids. As the sad procession got to the gates, Harry turned to see the smoking rubble that had once been a proud building.

"I'll rebuild it" he said to Hermione and his friends. "Even if I have to do it with my own two hands" and he turned away and walked to the station with Hermione's hand in his own. They boarded the train which set off on the saddest journey it would ever make in its existence. Given Harry's state, an entire compartment was given over to just him and Hermione so Hermione could listen to his grief pour out of his tortured heart and soul in private.

# # # # #

**Two Weeks Later**

With no other place to go, Harry spent his time with the Grangers at their home. Both parents made no comment when Hermione quietly told them they shared a bed. Nothing was going on between the pair (much to Hermione's disappointment!) but it was Harry's need to have something to keep him sane during the nights he awoke with nightmares of the battles he had fought and the lives he had taken.

"Hermione, sweetie!" her mother called.

"Yes, Mum?"

"You have a couple of letters. Harry has some as well. That owl of his found her way here again"

"Be down in a minute" Hermione called and closed the door of her room so Harry could study art. One of his current favourites was to watch Hermione getting sorted for the day ahead. He longed for the day he could get some 'hands on' experience with this type of art. Hermione did nothing for his self control when she drew out every action until Harry had to go for an extremely cold shower. Her body, in his opinion, was perfection in itself and could never be matched. Everything was in the right proportions by the look of things, and Harry dearly wished to confirm this assessment first hand, second hand and third hand if he had strength. A few minutes later they joined Hermione's parents around the breakfast table and ate some bacon and eggs whilst reading the post.

"Griphook has been made leader of his people and Head of Gringotts" Hermione said. "He's asked that we attend his ceremony. I don't think any human has seen that in over a hundred years or more" she mused the possibilities over and over in her mind.

"I suggest you read the one with the Ministry seal, Mione" Harry said. "I have a feeling that it is important" and his girlfriend frowned as she did so. Even in the magical world, nothing could be found to explain Harry's feelings – none of the foresights anyhow…

"Oh my god…" she breathed. "They've given me an Order of Merlin" and the girl turned to look at Harry. "You knew!" she accused him.

"Fudge asked me for a list of people I thought should get them" he replied. "Apart from you, most of the DA has one as do Daphne, Pansy and others as well. Even Fliss gets one too"

"The little girl?" asked Hermione's mother. "What does she get one for?"

"Apart from being the only person known to take me down, _and_ services to teddy bear welfare?" Harry asked with a grin. "Seems she took out three Death Eaters by herself. I nominated her for a 3rd class and Fudge has given her it" he drank some tea and opened the next letter. "Speaking of which… Pansy told Fliss I wasn't feeling very well so she made me a card" he showed it off. On the front was a giant sized Harry hitting what might have been Voldemort with Fliss's favourite story book. In the background watching was Fliss alongside Pansy, Father Christmas, Jesus Christ, two small figures that may have been Griphook's daughters and Hermione. As he looked at the front, Card Harry stopped hitting Card Voldemort, picked him up and started spinning the poor cartoon until flinging him into the cartoon tree. Card Harry then started jumping up and down on Card Voldemort and raised its oversized arms in triumph. "Funny…" he said. "I seem to think it was just like that" and Hermione giggled as she looked at Father Christmas and Jesus Christ sitting in deckchairs drinking pumpkin juice.

"I wonder how she got all that to work" she said.

"Pansy helped I expect" Harry opened his own letter from the Ministry last. "No" and screwed it up and threw it to the floor. The Grangers were bemused and confused by it until Hermione reached down and picked the crumpled letter up.

"They want to give you something for everything that you did, and you want to turn them down?" Hermione looked up from the letter to see Harry had gone inside himself somewhat.

"Here we go again…" muttered her father.

"Nothing that happened was of your making" Hermione said gently, rubbing Harry's back in small circles – something found to calm him down in stressful situations.

"I could have surrendered and let everyone live" tears ran down Harry's face. "I could have saved Luna. I could have saved the Creevleys! I don't deserve to be honoured for what I have done" and collapsed into Hermione's waiting embrace. The adult Grangers suddenly found the living room was the best place to be at that moment and left the kitchen.

# # # # #

The fortnight's further delay in the awarding of medals and honours was explained as Harry recovering from wounds received in battle. Despite claiming he was suffering from something known to muggles as Bone Idleness Syndrome – seemingly a terminal problem in every case – Harry sat in the front row of seats with Hermione and some of their friends. They watched as several people stood at the podium and gave speeches regarding the bravery of those that had died. All of them would win the highest level of the Order of Merlin posthumously.

"When I read out each name, would that person please come up to collect their medal" Fudge said – choosing not to wear the normal green robes that he usually did. "Fliss Parkinson" and the girl stood up and walked proudly up the stage and stood by the podium. "For taking out three attackers despite having no training in Dark Arts defence, and for saving twelve teddy bears under heavy fire, we hereby award you the Order of Merlin 3rd Class" and he put the medal around the girl's neck before Fliss shook his hand very gravely. Each person was called up and given their medal and waited for Harry's name to be read out.

"_Wonder if I could sneak away without being spotted?_" he thought to himself.

"Harry Potter" Fudge's voice pulled him from his thoughts and caused him to go up to the stage in the Ministry's largest courtroom – altered for the occasion. A loud silence descended over everybody as watched him stand by Fudge. It was only after viewing his memories had the entire story of the final battle been played out. Harry had no idea they would give a summery as his citation

"Lord Harry James Potter, Student, Gryffindor House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hogwarts Castle and Grounds, Sixteenth June, Nineteen Ninety-Five. In combat littered with bodies and magical booby traps, Harry Potter led an attempt to rescue Luna Lovegood from captivity whilst Death Eaters and followers of Lord Voldemort were attempting to infiltrate under the cover of darkness. He immediately waged a fierce battle during which cutting and grenade spells gravely wounded his right hand, fractured his thigh and caused severe internal injuries. Near exhaustion from profuse bleeding, he continued to defend his forward position, engaging in hand-to-hand combat when he was out of magical power. At battle's end, Harry Potter was found amid the bodies of twenty six Death Eaters, four Goblins and Lord Voldemort whom he had killed in his self-sacrificing defence of innocents" Madam Bones finished speaking and handed Harry the roll which had the notice hand written on it along with his Order of Merlin 1st Class. Harry had to stand and take the good wishes and the applause without exploding with anger. He felt that he didn't deserve it, and only came to collect his award because Hermione promised him something afterwards.

"I hope I don't have to do that again" he said through a forced smile.

#

"I'm sorry, Harry" Hermione said as they sat at the banquet afterwards. "I didn't know they had this on the bill. If I had have known about it, we could have fobbed them off with something or other" but Harry shook his head.

"It isn't that, Mione" he said to her quietly. "I hate being an attraction that people can come and stare at. People coming here so they can say they once dined with Harry Potter… I'd prefer to just get some pizza in, grab some crisps and some beers and get our friends round" he said. "I never thought the Dursleys were right about me until now – I _am_ a freak" and Hermione squeezed his leg in support.

"All this will calm down in the months to come" she told him.

"I hope so…" Harry replied, and then turned to make some small comments about somebody who had started to talk to Harry and Hermione. "I wish we could we could bring back Luna. When I first was told of the Wizarding World, I read all of the books hoping there was something to bring my parent to me – even for a short time. When I got to Hogwarts, I'd go through the library for hours until I found a book meant for older students"

"What did it say?" Hermione's hand started moving north.

"There is a way to permanently bring someone back from the dead" Harry said.

"Horcrux" but, to Hermione's surprise, Harry said that wasn't it.

"I found the book again whilst the library was being cleared out for rebuilding. It's damaged, of course, but you can still read the text for the rituals needed. The very magic is dark, Mione. Its darker than using Horcruxes. It is about as dark as anybody can go" he said. Hermione's fingers tightened around his fly and pulled it open before its owner slipped them inside Harry's trousers.

"You want to go darker than Voldemort ever did and raise the dead so you can bring Luna back?" Hermione glanced around as she breached the open fly of his boxer shorts and took hold of Harry's magic wand.

"Yeah, pretty much…"

"How can I help?" she asked.

"We need to find all of the things we need for the rituals involved. Nobody must find out what we are going to do. One of two outcomes will take place after we're finished. Either we get our friend back or we don't" Harry felt Hermione's hand pumping faster and faster on his hardened shaft.

"All of those sorts of things are banned" Hermione said. "Anything that is found is destroyed by the Ministry" she added.

"Not totally" Harry replied with a smile. "I was thinking that a lot of what we need I already have. Griphook told me last week that because I defeated Voldemort and his Death Eaters, I can claim all of their estates by right of conquest. I bet that a lot of them have stuff we can use. Anything else we require I am sure that obtain from Knockturn Alley" and then Harry fell silent as Hermione finished her task.

"That is only just a starter" she said, setting him to rights before eating some of the food on the table.

# # # # #

"Out of the question, my boy" Fudge told Harry.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because she is dead, Harry" Fudge replied. "I'm sorry to remind you, but it was yourself that killed her"

"You don't understand, Minister" Harry said. "Luna was a Seer. More than that, she could see and communicate with the wards around the school. Just as she died, her eyes flashed a gold colour. I've been reading all sorts of texts for weeks now, and I think she might still be alive"

"Even though you put a hole inside of her?" Fudge rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Only her body died" Hermione countered. "If Luna does indeed have an immortal soul, I think we should try to give it a chance to bring her back to life" but Fudge shook his head.

"I could never countenance such a project" he told them both. "I'm sorry, but that is my decision" and Harry and Hermione got up and walked out of his office at the Ministry.

#

"So what did he say?" asked Dean.

"The word is 'no'. I am therefore going to do this anyway" Harry said. "Have the Weasley twins, the Patil twins and everybody else ready to go in…" Harry looked at his watch. "Seven hours. Full dragon hide armour to be worn at all times" Dean nodded and hurried to get everybody in the loop and updated with the latest information.

"You know that if we do this we're going to be spending a lot of time in jail" Hermione said to Harry.

"If it came to betraying my country or my friend, I hope I have the guts to betray my country" Harry said.

"Voltaire?"

"Sulu"

"Ah"

"This can save a person life" said Harry. "I am not going to give up on this until it is over – and even then I'll try something" to which Hermione could only agree.

"We should be able to do something" she told him. "Besides, I feel awfully rebellious all of a sudden after all of this rule breaking"

"Who are you, and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" Harry laughed, and he took Hermione's hand in one of his own as the pair went to take part in Griphook's ceremony. They would be needing a lot of his help in a short while, and they hoped the Goblin could help them out after what they did for him and his family.


	20. The Good That Men Do

**The Good That Men Do**

"Once we go in, we don't stop until we've got on our way to Hogwarts" Hermione told the group. "Lets go over the plan one last time" she said, and they gathered round the table in the dining room at Grimmauld Place. Most of the group had come with the excuse that Harry was feeling bad about what he had done and wanted to talk to his friends. The only ones not at the meeting were Susan and Hannah – both of whom were at the Ministry in order to disable the alarms and confuse the responding Aurors. They had also keyed Harry into Susan's Aunt's private Floo connection so they could get a good head-start on the repulsing of their attack. The Weasley twins were also not there as they had things to do.

"We Floo in to the Ministry using Madam Bones's private connection" Harry said. "We then secure the corridor, the DMLE squad, locker and evidence rooms" as he spoke, Harry pointed out things on the many floor plans they had taken in the still chaotic Ministry records department. "Once the stairs have been warded as good as possible, we'll take the lift down each floor and block the doors using the same bubble block as I used fighting Voldemort. The only difference is that we'll have blocked each floor level as well – having keyed the lift to pass through them all. Dean, Seamus and Neville will stay at the lift once we get to the lowest level to keep it safe. According to Susan, the Mysteries people have an emergency Floo next to the lift in case it breaks down or something" he sipped some Pumpkin juice before going on. "The place should be empty, but we'll not know that until we actually go in. Whatever happens, we fire only stunners or jinxes at the Aurors and others that come to greet our unexpected visit. Our aim is to get two of the time turners, the resurrection items recovered from Riddle Manor and some of the bastard's blood"

"Why the blood?" asked Padma.

"Because we're going to be using the same sort of spell as Voldemort did that night in the Graveyard" Harry noted some shivers. "One part of it was to have some of the enemy unwillingly given. Voldemort would never have allowed it, and so magic will accept that as such"

"Why did they keep his blood?" asked Daphne. "That's disgusting"

"It was kept by his followers in case he was killed again by me. They would be able to do the entire ritual with the Horcrux again" Harry said.

"Wouldn't Voldemort be able to come back again through his blood?" asked Neville, and Hermione shook her head.

"When Harry was cleaned up after the battle, he was already thinking of this plan to bring her back. Once Luna is back with us, we will remove the tainted blood inside of her and give her own blood back" she said. "In theory, this should work out as we hope"

"In theory" Pansy noted flatly.

"In theory" Harry agreed. "Once we have everything that we need, we're going to fall back to the lift and return to the DMLE and evac the Ministry. As we're doing this, we'll be removing traces of my magic as much as possible. Once we have evacuated, the Weasley twins will launch some of their fireworks to alert the Goblins that are to come to arms and defend the school against intruders. They have orders not to seriously hurt or kill anyone. In order to save time, the potions are already brewing in one of the potion labs at Hogwarts. They should be ready at the same time as we get back from all of this mess…" Harry looked at the people stood around the table.

"Something wrong?" asked Seamus.

"This is something that I and I alone must do. If any of you want to back out before we go, then please say so now. I will not think any less of you for choosing to remain behind"

"To hell with that" Hermione said. "I am with you until the end, Harry" and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"I think that we owe all Luna for allowing herself to be killed so Harry could get to Voldemort" said Pansy. "I didn't know her as much as you lot. In actual fact, I'd taunt her many times over the years. If this can help to repay the hurt I gave her, I will be able to rest easier" and the others said they'd go as well.

"We'll get going in about six minutes" Harry said. "Anyone wanting the loo should go now" he added with a grin.

#

"How is everything?" Hermione asked Susan and Hannah.

"It's like my sex life - All quiet on the western front. It'll take a few minutes to redirect the Floo to some place else" Susan said. A short time later, and she said it was ready for them after they had returned. The connection was supposed to be between the office and the Bones family home. Susan and Hannah had rerouted it after they were sure that Susan's Aunt was in bed.

"I don't hear anything" said Neville. He had an ear pressed to the door – listening for footsteps in the corridor beyond it.

"Lets move" Harry said firmly. The group poured out and into the corridor and started to clear the entire department room by room. Within minutes, they had secured all of the DMLE department and blocked off the stairs running down to the Atrium. They found just two Aurors in the squad room – there to keep the lights burning and to start things after a call was sent. Both of them were stunned, bound, gagged and shoved in two empty lockers.

"You know we just broke the law because of this?" Hermione said.

"To hell with the law" Harry said in reply. "Lets move down" and the same process was repeated floor by floor until they reached the Atrium.

#

"I need some help" Neville panted as he ran around the corner and came upon a group of Aurors and Hit Wizards. They turned to see him with a missing arm and him in great distress.

"You need St Mungos" said one Auror.

"Oh, I don't need them" said Neville. I got trapped in here overnight, and as I tried to find my way out, my false arm got trapped between a door. I can't get it out at all – can you help?" he asked.

"Might as well" said a Hit Wizard. With nothing else to do, they all followed Neville down a corridor to the lifts. Normally they would have remained at their posts, but it was a welcome diversion to an otherwise boring night.

"I don't see any arm, boy" said the Hit Wizard.

"But I'd like to see your wands" a voice from behind caused them to turn and see the rest of the group. "This is easy as hell" Daphne said.

"Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. Wands out and hands up" Harry said. Faced with overwhelming numbers and the thought of attacking heroes of magical Britain, they handed over their wands and put up their hands. "Dean…"

"Lets take a walk…" he said, and he, Seamus, Neville and Daphne took them away before stunning, binding and gagging them. They stuck them in the lift and sent it up to where Hannah and Susan would be waiting to lock them up in a now expanded locker/prison.

"I don't think there is anybody else in the building" said Pansy. "The patrols just have a quick look around and then come back up here where it is warm" and Hermione agreed.

"We would have found less people otherwise" she said.

"We'll stick to the plan" Harry said. "But we'll take both lifts" he conceded – noting the small space each had. "I'll go first. Second one will go five seconds after that" and they took the lifts and went into the very bowels of the Ministry. The same clearance procedure was carried out, but they found not a single person down below.

They hadn't found the ward that alerted certain people to an invasion of the Department of Mysteries…

#

"Mistress Bonesy" an elf shook madam Bones awake.

"What is it, Tilly?" asked the sleepy woman.

"Someones be breaking intos Ministrys" said the elf.

"Oh crap" Bones was fully awake by now.

"Yes, Mistress Bonesy. Very craps ineedie"

#

"We all set?" asked Harry.

"I think so" Hermione checked a list of the items they wanted.

"Right" Harry motioned the party to the lifts. They got in them and returned to the Atrium. "This is going better than I could ha-… fuck it" Harry said the Aurors, Hit Wizards Madam Bones and Fudge waiting for them.

"Mr Potter, I have a good idea what you are going to do. This is not going to work, you know" said Fudge.

"You've broken a dozen laws to get this far" Bones added. "Put everything down, end your wards and we'll put this down to delayed shock and temporary madness" she said.

"Nothing will be said about it" added Fudge. Harry's replayed was a single word. He assumed it would be clear to everyone.

"Balls" and he walked towards the lift.

"Halt!" Bones called out. "Halt and stay where you are – all of you. You are under arrest" but Harry and the group just kept walking. The Aurors and Hit Wizards withdrew their wands and started tracking them as they moved closer and closer. "Mr Potter, don't make this harder for yourself and your friends" Bones pleaded. They just kept on getting closer and closer to them.

"Stun them" Fudge said – but not a spell was fired. The wall of bodies remained intact and the group stopped in front of them.

"If you don't move" Harry said to the biggest wizard there, "I'm going to have to hurt you" and the man saw the emotions burning in the boy's eyes.

"What are you waiting for?" Bones asked.

"Stun them!" Fudge grabbed a Hit Wizard by the shoulder. The man jumped in reaction and fired a stunner – followed closely by the rest.

"No" Harry raised a hand and slowed the spells before holding them in mid-air. With a frown, he bent them back and shot them back at their own caster – knocking them out of the action. Fudge and Bones stood open mouthed at the thought of someone holding that much power. Wisely, both adults placed their wands on the floor and held up their hands. Neither wanted to be hit by Harry's magic while he was in a bad mood.

"Bye, Bye" Lavender waved sarcastically while they went for the lifts.

"That was lucky" Bones breathed.

"How was that lucky?" Fudge asked.

"He let us live" Bones replied.

"You get them out of their stunners, Amelia, and I'll try and call out as many Aurors as possible" but the experienced witch shook her head.

"Do you really want to take him on as he is?" she asked.

"I suppose not"

"You suppose rightly"

"He has broken the law" Fudge said as he helped Amelia bring the stunned people out from their own spells. "He has to face trial for what he has done now and for what he will do" to which she could only agree.

"I would suggest we give it a few days" the witch said. "I would not like to go up against him at this moment in time. Also, it would have to be a full meeting of the Wizengamot as Potter is the Head of his Family and holds seats on the thing himself"

"I never thought I'd have to arrest Harry Potter" Fudge shook his head as he watched the lift doors close and take the group away. "After saving my term and getting me re-elected. I'd do anything for him"

"Wouldn't want to arrest him?" asked Bones, ordering the Aurors and Hit Wizards to start going over the Ministry for hidden surprises left by Harry and the others. "So that whole thing with him standing trial for defending himself with reasonable force never happened?" and she enjoyed watching Fudge squirm in his suit.

"Oh, you know what I mean…" he snapped back at her. "He is an Order of Merlin winner. He nearly died to save us all – nearly doing so for defeating You-Know-Who. How the hell am I going to get out of this?"

"Resign" said an Auror.

"Yes, I'll res-" Fudge eyed the witch as he realised what she had said.

"You did ask" she shrugged.

#

"What are you doing?" asked Padma.

"Sealing the lift doors together with a heat beam" Hermione said. "It'll take them ages to get it open again" she added with a hint of pride.

"You really are the brightest witch of our age" Padma said.

"She should be" Harry remarked. "She is always having great ideas" he reached out and cancelled the spell which had a floating lightbulb above his girlfriend's head.

"HARRY!" she protested.

"We should be going" said Susan. "If Fudge is really here, he can override all of the stuff we've put up" she said.

"Want to bet?" asked Harry. "When we checked his office, I charmed it to transport him to Azkaban" and laughter ran out through the group. "However, we should be going as the lady does suggest" and, one by one, they left the Ministry and Flooed directly to the shattered remains of Hogwarts. Clean up of the devastated building had only gone so far as to remove the bodies and dispose of the remains of body and organ parts. Blood was still caked on the walls and floor, though the few wards and charms that still operated removed some of the stench. Debris of all types was still littering the floors, and huge gaps in walls, floors and ceilings bore testament to the tremendous fight that had taken place just a month beforehand.

"This gives me the creeps" said Hannah. With nobody supposed to be in the castle, there was no need for lighting or heat – all energies in the castle were devoted to maintaining the current status could be made.

"_Lumos_" Harry muttered, and the fire damaged office of McGonagall was dimly lit – made brighter by several more spells later on. Her office had the only working Floo connection as it was central to all parts of the school rebuilding efforts. With only dim lights working, Harry was strongly reminded of Kirk and crew stealing the _Enterprise_ from 'Star Trek III'.

"Master Harry Potter" Dobby popped inside the office. "Dobby beens waiting for you"

"Is everything ready, Dobby?" he asked, and the elf nodded. "Tell the Weasley twins they can send the signal to the Goblins. After that, get us some coffee and sandwiches. I think this is going to be a long night" and Dobby popped away to do his tasks.

"We should get a move on" said Hermione. "Our blocks will only last a little while. The Ministry will try to get here and stop us" she said.

"Then lay on, MacDuff" Hannah swept out her hand in a grand gesture. As they picked their way through the debris to the potion lab, Padma went to retrieve Luna's body from the kitchens. It may have seemed terrible, but it was a place that had long lasting preservation charms built in due to handling food. It was where the bodies had been placed briefly before transportation back home for burial.

#

"Weasels?" Dobby popped into the owlry. "Harry Potter be saying it is time to be launching the fizzbangs" and popped out again.

"What an odd creature" remarked George.

"That's the nicest thing you've said about me in ages" replied Fred. Each twin launched a single, bright rocket which told the Goblins to assume their duty. Each one had been hand picked by Griphook – and most had been in Hogwarts on the light side.

#

"What's up?" asked Harry.

"I just got gently pushed back by a ward of some kind" Hermione said. "I think it must be Rune based" she added.

"A little something to stop anybody coming in and halting the potion" Harry replied. "It requires the password to be given by two senior members of staff"

"And where do we get that from?" she asked.

"In the absence of a second one, the ward will tap into the next highest ranking person – that's you, Mione" Harry said as he put his hand on the barely visible barrier. "Bravo Echo Echo Delta Tango Zulu"

"Bravo Echo Echo Delta Tango Zulu" Hermione did the same as Harry. The ward shield glowed a brilliant gold before shutting down and allowing the group entry. A lone cauldron bubbled in the middle of the room, and they hurried towards it in order to complete the potion that had been brewing for the past day.

"What do we do?" asked Padma.

"You've got to take off your clothes and go nude" Harry replied.

"That helps the potion?" asked Padma sceptically.

"No" shrugged Harry, "But it will tell me if you are _really_ identical or not" and the Patil twins both blushed a beautiful cherry red.

"_Ignito_" Hermione casually lit a few of the lamps in the room to give better light to the room. "Looks like the potion is nearly ready, Harry. Just need to add Luna's blood and… his" she finished lamely. She took the vials of blood and poured them into the boiling cauldron. "Who has the time turner?" she asked.

"Me" said Lavender. She took it out of her robes and handed the item over to Hermione who checked it for breakages.

"I honestly think this is going to work" she said to the others. Taking the device to pieces, she poured the sand like substance into the mixture which turned a dark shade of blue. She consulted a book that she had brought with them and stirred the mix four times in each direction.

"How many times do we have to do that?" asked Seamus.

"Every twenty minutes" Hermione replied. "We've got to do it right, or this will be all for nothing" and the serious of what they had done, and of what they still had to do, was hammered home once again.

#

"We've got the Floo network unblocked" said an Auror, "But it will take at least another three hours to connect and charge up to normal levels" and Fudge turned to Madam Bones.

"We'll take a couple of House Elves" he said.

"I haven't seen any of them around here" he was informed. "In fact, the Department's own group of seven announced they would be going on strike from midnight" Bones said as she remembered something.

"Strike?" Fudge and others were shocked by this.

"Yes" replied the Director, "Something about terms and conditions…"

"This is Harry Potter's doing" Fudge shook his head. "Get down to the Department of Mysteries and find what is missing against the list of known items. And you lot" he pointed at a group of Aurors, "Tell me the moment that the network is working again" and as they all rushed to carry out Fudge's instructions, he couldn't help but try to find a way out of arresting Harry Potter. The boy was a god-like figure – a real and genuine war hero. Arresting him would be like walking unarmed into the West Bank wearing just a Star of David flag – the public would kill him.

#

"We're ready to try it" Hermione said.

"Really?" Harry blinked his eyes open.

"Potion is made, transfer Runes are created and all we need to do is engage the orchestra" his girlfriend informed him.

"No more cheesy movies…" Harry shook his head as he stood up and looked around the tired faces of his friends. This would be the most critical moment of the entire night – bringing Luna back from the dead. "Alright everyone, listen up. This is something that I and I alone have to do. I'd like everyone except Hermione to stand with the Goblins and stop the Aurors for as long as you can – good luck" and they shook hands as if Harry was going away for a while.

"You want me to…?" Hermione jerked her head in the direction of Luna's coffin.

"I'll do that" Harry said. "You just get everything ready for me to use" and he took his wand and unscrewed the lid to Luna's coffin. His hands actually shook as he removed the lid and placed it on a desk top nearby. "She looks like she's sleeping" he muttered. Luna's face was serene in the eternal slumber it was in, and only a closer look would have said otherwise. Her skin had lost most of its colouring to become a pale grey, and her lips were a greyish blue colour. Her hands rested in the folded shape Harry himself had placed them into before the coffin was sealed up.

#

"I order you to stand aside and let us pass" said Fudge.

"Sorry, Minister" said Griphook. "I have been informed I am not to allow that" he added.

"SUSAN?" Madam Bones looked at her niece. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm only here because the plot demands that I suddenly make an appearance and throw you off balance" she said.

"Right..."

"I'm actually here to inform you that you are not permitted to enter these grounds until a signal has been sent from the top most remaining tower" Susan addressed Fudge.

"We could just walk in, my dear" he said.

"Like to see you try" said Griphook.

#

"Again" Hermione said.

"_Crucio_" Harry hit Luna's body with the curse. It twitched sharply and fell back with a soft thump. "Well?" he asked.

"Her heart beat several times" Hermione said. "We need to give her more potion" and that is what they did.

"Are the Runes working?" Harry asked. He was nervous about this part of the operation as the Rune could melt away before Luna's soul was transferred from the school's wards to her own body.

"I'm not sure" Hermione frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Well" she said, "The potion has been given and the Runes claim she is back in her own body. Hit her with a _Crucio_ – but make it as powerful as you can manage" Hermione wondered if one last powerful _Crucio_ would do all the difference.

"Here we go…" Harry raised his wand to the body of his friend. "_CRUCIO_!" he roared and the spell hit Luna with such a force that her body jerked around like somebody being electrocuted.

"Damn…" Hermione shook her head. "I thought that would have worked" and Harry turned to face her.

"What did I do, Mione?" he asked. "I thought I could bring her back. I thought that I could cheat death one more time" and he broke down and fell into his girlfriend's waiting arms.

"Rumours of my death" said a horse voice, "Have been greatly underestimated" and the pair turned to see Luna rising from her coffin like some comedy vampire.

"She's alive…" Harry breathed.

"Yes, Master" Hermione laughed with joy.

"It was about bloody time" Luna grumbled. "I was getting sick of that harp playing" she looked at the gaping twins. "Did I miss anything?" she asked.

#

"I could have you all arrested" Fudge was still arguing with the Goblins and the gang.

"Be our guest" said Lavender.

"You don't understand" Bones said.

"What?" Susan asked.

"Harry Potter is suffering from a nervous breakdown after what happened to him. He needs to see specialist Mind Healers" Fudge said.

"He needs to see his bed" Harry said from behind the group. "Luna is alive and well. She is on her way to St Mungos even as we speak. Minister, I know what you must do and what a lot of people will want to do. Call your trial – I shall attend" Harry looked far older than anybody would have thought, and he apperated away on the spot with Hermione on his arm.

"Did he just…?" Daphne gawped.

"He did" Fudge shook his head. "Amelia, please call all Heads of Families to a meeting on Saturday. Let us hope that sense will prevail and that Mr Potter will be free to go and live his life in peace" and he, Bones, the Aurors and the group of friends left for their own homes or other places.

#

"What is your name?" asked a Healer.

"Luna Lovegood"

"What is your occupation?" and Luna thought for several moments.

"Recently revived member of the public"


	21. Hero's Trial

**Hero's Trial **

"Are you sure that you know what you are doing?" asked Hermione.

"I knew this would happen the moment I started thinking about the thing" Harry replied. He had his head in Hermione's lap as he lay on the sofa at the Granger's home.

"What I don't understand is why none of the rest of us are getting tried tomorrow" his girlfriend frowned as she stoked his head.

"Something to do with me being the Head of the Potter Family and all that" Harry replied. "Madam Bones said that much at least"

"She still not talking to you?"

"I think she is still pissed for us breaking into the Ministry when it was supposed to be locked tighter then a Nun's chastity belt. I don't know what the result will be, Mione, but I don't want to lose you – whatever the outcome" Harry said, looking into her eyes.

"I'll make sure that you don't stay in Azkaban" Hermione said.

"What you going to do? Break me out of imprisonment?" Harry asked her with a smile.

"Well…" Hermione mused, "My record for breaking people out is 100% after all" and Harry remembered they escapade with getting Sirius out of what was in store for him. A pang of hurt went through his heart as he thought about his Godfather. Sirius would have loved to have seen Voldemort defeated once and for all. With his death, and Remus Lupin's imprisonment, Harry now had no link to his parents except by those few like Flitwick, McGonagall and Madam Bones.

"If you don't manage to do that, I could be out in thirty or forty years" Harry shrugged. "Or I could get somebody to take my place – Barty Crouch style" and Hermione smiled as he went upright and stood up. "Now" he looked at the clock on the mantelpiece, "I believe that we have a show and dinner to go to" and the pair of them went upstairs to get ready for their planned night out.

#

"Sir!" a young Goblin hurried into Griphook's private quarters.

"I hope that the intrusion is warranted" the older one said.

"Forgive me, Sir" the Goblin handed over a copy of the _Daily Prophet_, "But I thought you should be seeing this" and he was right. With repairing the damage done by the Goblins following Ragnock and Albus Dumbledore, Griphook was not aware that the Wizendgamot had placed Harry on trial to answer multiple charges.

"_Idiots_" he muttered.

#

"What do you think about the charges?" Fudge asked the Chief Witch.

"I think you have all the basics covered" the tall and prim woman replied. "Surprising when you think that you once wished to imprison him for defending himself" she added.

"Will anybody allow me to forget that?" Fudge asked.

"Not us" piped up a trio of passing Aurors.

"Forget I said anything" he said. When he got to his office, he found Amelia Bones waiting for him wearing a harried expression.

"I have a problem" she told him.

"Which is?"

"Harry Potter"

"Oh good" Fudge threw his hands into the air. "I thought we had a serious issue on our hands for a moment. Now what is wrong with him?"

"People facing trial are required to hand over their wands, and yet we know that Harry can do wandless magic as well as any one person alive. When you add in his honed combat abilities… Half of my Aurors and Hit Wizards are on holiday tomorrow"

"Really?"

"Yes. They all put down 'Wanting to stay alive' in the section marked Reason for Leave"

"Well I can understand that" Fudge laughed. "If I have learned one thing about young Harry Potter, then it is this – he is a person of immense honour. He could have told us there would be no trial, but he asked for one to be called. He isn't going to suddenly take up arms against us, Amelia"

"Let him keep the wand?"

"I think it would be best for him to keep his wands" Fudge said.

"He has _two_ of them?"

"Actually, he has five of them. His own personal wand, Remus Lupin's, his mother and father's and that of You Know Who. He earned that one by right of victory in a fight… Now, Amelia Bones, I don't know about you, but I'd let anybody who won against terrible evil keep their wand"

#

"We have a few more questions for you, Miss Lovegood"

"Such as?"

"On the question sheet we gave you, we asked 'Have you any past experience of coming back from the dead'. That is the problem we have"

"How so?" Luna smiled at the Healer.

"You put 'Jesus Christ and Mr Spock'. We have asked the Department of Records to check, but we can not find two Wizards with those names"

"Not surprising when they are both Muggles" Luna replied, then stuck more pins in her Voodoo doll.

"That girl really needs a good seeing to" said another Healer.

"You are not my type" Luna said, then put the doll down and picked up a book entitled, _Your Death and How To Deal With It_.

#

"You look nervous about something, my daughter" and Daphne looked at her father.

"I'm worried about Harry" she said.

"Worried about a Gryffindor?" he laughed. "Is the world ending?"

"Harry is going to be sent to jail for something that had to be done" Daphne said. "I would have done the same for a number of people"

"Yes, I'm afraid that talk is of his impending imprisonment" her father agreed.

"Just for saving somebody from hell?" Daphne snorted. "I would have thought that would have been handwaved away by the Minister"

"It was, Daphne. But that is not what I am on about"

"_What_?" the girl looked at her father with confusion.

"A small, but powerful, lobby has argued that the defeat of You-Know-Who constitutes murder"

"You're joking"

"I wish that I were, my child. After reviewing all of the evidence we have, it would appear that You-Know-Who was unarmed at the time of his death"

"So Harry was supposed to wait until he had his wand?" Daphne couldn't believe it. "Harry did what he had to do – we all know that. I'll bet it is those people nobody could ever claim were true Death Eaters"

"I am not sure entirely who is in the group, but I _do_ know that the Yorks are in it up to their necks. I do know that this group is very large and very powerful. Mr Potter is going to face tough questions tomorrow" Cyrus Greengrass leaned back in his chair and sipped his Firewhiskey in deep thought.

"Does he know?" she asked.

"From what I understand of the situation, I would have to say that he doesn't"

"How can people do this to him after everything he has done to save them?" Daphne fumed.

"Heaven alone knows how much I owe him for saving you, my girl, but there are some who believe that he is a risk. Others would have you think that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named should have been arrested, sent for trial and let out after a lengthy sentence"

"And he'd change his ways after that time?" Daphne snorted.

"Well Dumbledore has said a few times now that Harry Potter is a little… hot headed in his actions" her father said. His daughter was about to say something in reply when a terrible thought hit her. Dumbledore had paid heavy fines instead of going to jail, and was therefore a free person. As all of the families voting to put Harry on trial were subject to his word, being vassals that they were, Dumbledore was getting a completely legal way of revenge for not doing as Dumbledore had wanted. Daphne knew that Dumbledore wanted the riches the Potter family held in money and deeds to many businesses and properties, and she turned to go out of the room.

"So just because Harry choose Hermione Granger over the Weasley girl, and just because he wanted a normal life, Dumbledore is going to ruin Harry?" the girl shook her head. "Not on my watch he don't" and used the Floo to make the first of many calls.

#

"You have got to be joking!" exclaimed Dean. "Harry is the most honest and decent bloke I know"

"That is what I have said" Daphne told him. "I know Dumbledore hated Harry after refusing to bend to his will, but I never thought he would stoop this low" she shook her head.

"So we have to come up with something in the next…" Harry checked his watch, "Nine and a half hours"

"Can we go with the whole prophecy angle?" asked Padma.

"That would be logical" said Pansy. "But we don't know how far he is willing to go to get Harry put away"

"And somebody would point out we could have simply froze him in status" Hermione sighed.

"Are you working for the prosecution?" asked Harry.

"They offered me a first edition copy of Les Miserables" Hermione shrugged.

"Can we get a copy of the charges levied against Harry?" asked Hannah.

"Not normally, but I'll see what I can do" said Susan, using the floo. She came back several minutes later with a handful of parchment. "Easy what the Order of Merlin can get you into" she smiled. Hermione took them and went over each sheet, checking the wording and making notes on a notebook on the desk.

"Dumbledore was very crafty in what he said" she muttered. "You did kill Voldemort, but we might be able to argue that one" and the others looked at her.

"How?" Harry asked.

"While you killed Voldemort, you did so without using one of the three Unforgivables. In fact, you did not actually kill him by use of any spell on his person…"

#

"This case has been brought by the Ministry against Harry James Potter" said the Chief Witch. "You are charged with the death of Thomas Marvolo Riddle. You are also charged with the offences of Breaking and Entering, Theft, Assault on Aurors, Sabotage and several other offences. How do you plead?"

"On all but the death of Voldemort, I plead not guilty" Harry said.

"Why is that?" asked the Chief Witch.

"Because I did not use any offensive or defensive spell in his death" Harry said.

"Very well, Mr Potter" said the Chief Witch. "The Prosecution is Albus Dumbledore. Given your recent dislike and mistrust of Mr Dumbledore, we will allow you to object to him serving the Ministry"

"I have no real objection to him serving the Ministry" Harry said. "I would argue and agree with people that say he is a cunning linguist" and several people sniggered.

"Very well. I also understand that you will be representing yourself"

"My good friend, Miss Hermione Granger, will also be helping me" Harry pointed out.

"As you wish, Mr Potter" said the Chief Witch. "Mr Dumbledore, you may begin"

"Members of the Wizendgamot, I believe that Harry, here is…"

"Objection!" Hermione said.

"On what grounds?" asked Dumbledore. "I haven't even started yet"

"Madam, the Prosecution is being familiar with Harry. Please ask him to refer to Harry by title"

"I apologise to the court and to Mr Potter" Dumbledore said. "Mr Potter, as…"

"Objection!" Hermione said.

"On what grounds?"

"I believe that Harry is Lord Potter. As such, he should be referred to by Mr Dumbledore as Lord, and not as Mister" Hermione said.

"She has a point, and I apologise once more" Dumbledore said. "Lord Potter, as you all know, broke into the Ministry with the aid of his friends. He does not deny this fact at all, but I don't think that we should be punishing him too much. It is my intention to ask the court to jail Lord Potter for a short time. After he has been released, he should be given into my care until he is fit to rejoin society in a normal way"

"Why should I do this?" asked Harry. "You have said you want the Potter fortunes for yourself, and I have also been declared of age because of the Will made by my parents"

"Something, Lord Potter, that was never actually finalised or made official" Dumbledore said.

"I believe that it was and that you are trying your grandfather approach" Hermione said.

"If Mr Potter was supposed to go to your care after his parents died, then why did you send him to live with abusive muggles?" asked the Chief Witch. "We shall look into that at a later date" she said. "I presume you have something you wish to introduce?" and Dumbledore nodded.

"This" he said, producing a small folder of parchment, "Is the Will witnessed by myself, Minerva McGonagall concerning Lord Potter's care. It states that I am to be his Regent until I deem him ready to take his place. It also gives me the right to decide whom he is to marry"

"Madam, we have only just learned of this. May we request a short break until we can get this verified?" Hermione asked.

"Very well" said the Chief Witch. "We shall break for the period of one hour. Only myself, the Prosecution and the Defence shall leave the room. All others are to remain in here until it has been verified" and they stood and went to a small room on the other side of the corridor.

#

"This is a Will that Mr Potter heard being read some months ago" said a Goblin.

"And that was verified?"

"As being correct and legal" said the Goblin. "On the other hand, we have this document which Mr Dumbledore says is the only true Will"

"Is Albus Dumbledore telling the truth?" asked Fudge. He and Madam Bones had been called in to witness the examination of Dumbledore's supposed true Will.

"He is not" said the Goblin. "To most people it would look all correct. Even to most experts, it would be correct. However there are two minor oddities that prove this is a fake"

"Please explain what they are" said the Chief Witch.

"The ink used to make this writing was used by a clever person, but it was done by somebody who forgot a simple thing. The ink used here contains no lead at all in its make-up. The type used at the time had a small potion of lead placed into it. This practice, as I'm sure you know, was stopped at the turn of the decade because of health risks. As far as I know, only a few elderly people use the ink from stocks they built up before the ban"

"You said of another problem" Hermione said. She had an inkling of what the other issue was.

"Mr Potter's father wrote using his left hand. This… fakery… was done by somebody using their right hand" and everyone looked at Dumbledore.

"Arrest that man, and take him away" Fudge said, and Harry happily complied and stunned Dumbledore, took his wand and snapped it clean over his head.

"Well then, back to the trial" and he took Hermione's hand and walked off.

#

It was not, however, going to be that easy. A lot of the Wizendgamot thought that Dumbledore's capture only meant that Harry was trying to fiddle the results of the trial.

"We need a miracle" Harry said.

"I can't believe that they are going to find you guilty because you got rid of Voldemort. It wasn't as if you _asked_ for it in the first place"

"Asked for what?"

"The prophecy" said Hermione. "We've set out all of our points, and they just dismiss it" she shook her head. "I hope he gets here on time" and Harry looked sideways at her.

"Who?" he asked.

"An old friend" Hermione replied with a weak smile.

"Order! Order! Order!" cried the Scribe.

"Bacon, eggs and beans with a small platter of toast" Harry said. "And some tea would be nice" he added.

"That will be the long held dream for you, Mr Potter" said the Chief Witch.

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.

"The Ministry has agreed to drop their charges, but the murder charge remains" came the reply. "The penalties will also remain. You will be stripped of your awards, your school, your estate will be frozen and stripped to provide damages to the Riddle family and you shall be sent to Azkaban for the next fourteen years"

"You mean…?" Hermione looked in alarm at Harry who seemed to collect his thoughts.

"Harry James Potter, for the murder of Lord Riddle, you have been found guil-" a bright light filled the courtroom. It blinded everybody until it died down to reveal Griphook standing in front of the Wizangamot in a highly ornate golden chair. He looked at them and they looked back at him.

"Hel… Hello" said one of the astonished members.

"Hello" Griphook said pleasantly. "I am Griphook, King of the Goblins, and Supreme Teller of Gringotts Bank"

"Thank you for coming, Griphook"

"It is my pleasure, Harry Potter. The Goblins are in your debt"

"Your debt?"

"The Army of Light, under the command of Harry Potter has saved my people and yours on many occasions. We are not only allies against the Dark – we are true friends"

"Teller Griphook, my name is-"

"Ashley McConnell" Griphook said. "Neville Longbottom suggested I send you to a distant land for your actions here, but I am reasonably certain his statement was in jest"

"I sure it was, Teller-" the Chief Witch was interrupted again.

"_Supreme_ Teller" Griphook raised a finger as he pointed it out to her. "It is the opinion of the Goblin High Council that Hogwarts should be left in the very capable hands of Harry Potter, and his friends. And while out continued friendship and business with human kind is not contingent on that, it… _is preferred_"

"You came here just to say that?" asked the first member of the panel to speak to Griphook.

"Most of you came to say even less" he said. "And to install Goblin designed shields and wards around Hogwarts. A small token of thanks for their recent efforts in securing our world, and yours, from certain destruction" Griphook said.

"I see" said the man.

"I hope that I have been successful in convincing you" the Goblin looked around to the teens. "Good day, Harry Potter. Miss Granger" he nodded.

"Always a pleasure, Griphook" Hermione said. "Please drop in any time" and the blinding light returned to take Griphook away.

"Well…" said the man, "You have my support, Lord Potter" he said.

"Mine as well" said another. And, one by one, they changed their vote to clear Harry of any guilt.


	22. Final Flight…

**Final Flight… **

**Ten Years Later**

"Have you any idea what kind of weather you'll have?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know" said Harry. "I'll check in from BATC before I set off" he added, stopping to kiss his wife on the lips. The pair had married in the grounds of Hogwarts with all of their friends and family around them. Hermione, in Harry's opinion, was the most radiant bride that had ever lived. Her dress was the most expensive silk that could be found, crafted by Goblins, Elves and Mer-People all working together. All of their female friends had been Bridemaids, with Dobby being Harry's best man – or elf in this case. People had come from far and wide to see them join together as husband and wife such as Harry's old Quidditch team, the Delacours, Firenze and many, many others. The pair had done it on the last day of term so that the entire school could also attend.

"What time are you setting off?" Hermione asked.

"I think I'm due to set off at about eleven" Harry replied. "I'm sure that Susan will tell me when I get to the Ministry" he added.

Susan had joined the Auror Corp after taking a year's holiday upon graduating from school. She had worked hard and fast t make the youngest Senior Auror. Her husband, Dean, had opened a restaurant in partnership with the Patil twins. Over the years since the battle, the group had gone on to other things and done so much. Harry had remained Headmaster for as long as it took to rebuild the school, quit on his leaving day and turned it over to McGonagall. Since then, and at McGonagall's suggestion, a museum had been built on part of the grounds so that what happened would never be forgotten by anybody in the future. All kinds of exhibits were in there, and Harry had been asked to donate a few things. His Firebolt was getting a bit long in the tooth for doing the flying that Harry was fond of, and he had agreed to donate it after a last flight from their home in London. For some months previous to the flight, it had been sitting unused and in a bad state of repair in an old trunk in the attic of Grimmauld Place. It had been brought out, checked out, fixed up before prepared for the ferry to Hogwarts.

"Thank god my parents had the kids last night" said Hermione. "After last night…" she smiled as Harry pulled his flying gear out of the wardrobe.

"I didn't hear you complaining" Harry replied as Hermione put some cream on her nipples. He had clamped them hard during their bondage session last night – a kink they had discovered one quiet night. "Will you be alright handling the comms from Hogwarts?" Harry said, brushing off the dust with his hand. Luna had developed, in partnership with the Weasley twins, a headset that could transmit to a receiver which would be hooked up to the WWN. Two way communications with Harry's ferry flight was, therefore, possible so that the listening public could hear him and keep up with the progress of the flight. After turning it over to the museum, Harry would then return south with his repaired Nimbus 2000 for addition to the Nimbus museum in Kent – taking possession of his Firebus there.

"I'll be there before you set off to make sure the system works" Hermione said, rising from the bed to put on a robe. "If it doesn't, we could always put the flight back an hour" she pointed out.

"Lets give it a good and trouble free send off" said Harry. With a long twenty minutes goodbye to his wife, Harry left the bedroom to have his traditional pre-broom ride breakfast.

#

"London Broom, Good Morning. This is Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot requesting flight to Hogwarts" Harry spoke.

"_Alpha Foxtrot, Good Morning. You are cleared to Hogwarts_" came the voice of a Wizard assigned to London Broom Traffic Control. "_Line up on square one and ready for takeoff_"

"Lined up and ready for take off, Alpha Foxtrot" Harry said, increasing the power to the Firebolt and feeling it respond to the lightest touch. One of the things done to it was to restore all of the original settings, bar those improvements Harry had had made, so it was completely operational.

"_Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot, you are cleared for take off. Climb and maintain flight level four. Advise on reaching Big Ben_"

"Alpha Foxtrot cleared for take off. Flight level four" Harry put more power in and the broom took to the air. After he had cleared the roofs of the buildings in Diagon Alley, Harry swung it around, did a low and slow over it before heading to Big Ben.

"_Alpha Foxtrot, be aware you have traffic in your area at your nine o'clock. Distance is one hundred feet. It will keep clear of you at all times_"

"Understood traffic warning, Alpha Foxtrot" Harry felt the wind rush through his hair and hit his face. The weather was exceptionally good that day, and he suspected that it would be all the way to Hogwarts.

"_Firebolt, this is American 137. You're beautiful_"

"Thanks, 137" Harry said. He watched as a flying carpet rocked from side to side before peeling away to land in Diagon Alley. The Americans had come up with the idea to build them as a lot of their nation could not use Floo or Apparition for medical reasons. The solution was to fly via carpet – the ban on them overturned several years before. "London, passing Big Ben"

"_Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot, turn left heading 015. On behalf of all of us at BTC, may I wish the broom a happy retirement_"

"Acknowledged" Harry said. "And thanks…"

"_Broadsword calling Danny Boy_" Hermione's voice came in on a different frequency.

"Danny Boy" Harry replied.

"_What is your position?_"

"Leaning forwards in the middle of the broom" Harry told her. "I've left Diagon Alley, and I'm heading to Hogwarts" he said. "I should be there in a couple of hours"

"_Oh, have to go – the tea is here_"

"Talk to you later" Harry said, then flicked the headset to the first frequency he had been on.

"_Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot, turn right to 025. Climb and maintain flight level two zero_"

"Turn to 025 and climb to two zero, Alpha Foxtrot" Harry turned the broom round and headed higher.

"_Alpha Foxtrot, for the last time tune to 121.5. Farewell and Goodbye_"

"121.5. Thanks you and see you soon" Harry said. "Oxford control! Good morning. Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot heading 025 at flight level two zero"

"_Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot, Oxford control. Good Morning, Sir. Maintain two zero. Traffic information: advanced broom riders on test at five miles distance to you. They will keep clear at all times_"

"Information acknowledged, Alpha Foxtrot" Harry replied. "Oxford, can you give me the latest weather information?" he asked.

"_We certainly can_" the voice replied with a laugh. "_Scattered cloud between flight levels two zero and four zero. Suspected rain in area. Should not happen until you have cleared area_"

"Understood" Harry said. As he flew on the journey north, his thoughts turned to his life after Hogwarts. After the honeymoon was over, he had gone to work as an Auror and had soon become a Senior Auror. The job, though, was only part time as he had other important things to do. He was the Ambassador at Large for the Ministry, and had attended functions given by a number of leaders in his honour. He and Hermione hosted dinners for friends, gave parties for charities and lived as normal life as possible. Harry and Hermione had two children, James Sirius and Andromeda Rose. Both of them had been taught in Muggle primary school so they could get a better education then others of their age. They enjoyed seeing Granddad and Grandma Granger greatly, and loved being taken out to theme parks, picnics and the cinema.

"_Alpha Foxtrot_" the voice of the Oxford controller came on the headset – rousing Harry from his thoughts. "_Climb to flight level four five and maintain. Speed is at your discretion_"

"Acknowledged, Alpha Foxtrot" Harry said, pulling the broom even higher. The broom was performing just as it should do, but it was telling Harry it wanted to keep flying and never stop. He could well understand that, and he knew that brooms were meant to fly on the ground.

"_Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot from Oxford Control. Sir, it is with regret that we hand you over to Yarmouth for the final time_" Harry looked at the time on the broom's handle. He was making better time then he thought, but then he thought he knew the owner of that voice.

"Oxford? Alpha Foxtrot here. Is that Natalie McDonald?" he asked.

"_Affirm_"

"Isn't it time you picked your sister from school?" Harry asked.

"_For lunch_" agreed Natalie.

"Want me to pick her up for you?" Harry asked.

#

"_Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot from Oxford Control. Sir, it is with regret that we hand you over to Yarmouth for the final time – this time_"

"Thanks for the help over the years, Oxford" Harry said, knowing that his every word was being beamed live to hundreds and, perhaps, thousands of homes over the country. "I just want to say that it has been a pleasure. Don't forget I'm coming back this way tomorrow" he added.

"_Affirm. Alpha Foxtrot, for the last time contact Yarmouth Control on 118.9. Goodbye_"

"Yarmouth 118.9, Alpha Foxtrot. Bye" and Harry switched frequencies again. "Yarmouth, Alpha Foxtrot on course 025 at flight level four five"

"_Alpha Foxtrot, Yarmouth control. Steer 020 and descend to flight level four zero. Traffic information: there is none. All brooms grounded until you have passed over area_" the unseen male voice called Harry. "_Weather information: as previous notice, but with turbulence at flight level four five_"

"Understood, Yarmouth. Descending to flight level four zero, Alpha Foxtrot"

#

"As Harry Potter comes to the east coast of England, last minute checks are being made for his arrival at the Hogwarts museum. What do you think he will be thinking of, Gina?" asked a Wizard.

"Well" Gina replied, "Mr Potter is an experienced flyer so he will be thinking of getting his broom to its destination safely. He will be, of course, thinking of the good times he has had with his Firebolt – the oldest Firebolt of its type still in existence. He was part of the winning team for Gryffindor several times. Listeners will also remember that Mr Potter set the world record for going around the world by way of broomstick on this very broom. His wife, Hermione Potter, is in contact with him at all times during the final flight. His next call in should be in around an hour and a half from now. Back to you, Dave, in the studio"

"Thank you, Gina. We'll be back after these messages"

#

"Edinburgh control from Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot. Entering your area at flight level five two heading 317"

"_Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot, Good Evening, Sir. You are cleared to head direct to Hogwarts at present speed and altitude_"

"Control from Alpha Foxtrot. Request refilling of flight plan"

"_What destination?_"

"Same destination. Request visual flight rules approach"

"_Alpha Foxtrot, message received. Clearance granted_"

"Thanks, Control" Harry said, and took the broom a little higher to 5,000ft, slowed his speed down and glanced down at the scenery below him. He could feel the broom asking and begging not to be retired from use, but all things had to come to an end, and he turned for Hogwarts and was handed over to Inverness control.

"_Broadsword calling Danny Boy_" Hermione's voice came through.

"Hey, Mione. How you doing?"

"_Never better_" she replied. "_We're all ready for you to come here at any time_" and Harry nodded to himself.

"I'll be there in about half an hour" he told her. "Get the welcome mat out. Inverness Control from Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot, request descent to flight level one eight"

"_Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot from Inverness control. You are cleared to descend to flight level one eight. Turn right and come to 347. Sir, the entire control room joins me in wishing you a safe landing. Upon arriving at Hogwarts, you are cleared to land at your discretion_"

"Inverness from Alpha Foxtrot. Confirming that. I just want to say that it has been an honour to have had such help over the years" Harry replied. "Inverness, Alpha Foxtrot. Is there any traffic in my area?" he squinted at the blob in the distance. It was something in the sky coming close to him.

"_Nothing on our screens, Alpha Foxtrot_"

"Well there is something approaching me at some speed" Harry said. "Am turning right" and he nudged the broom away from the incoming object.

"_Alpha Foxtrot, can you describe what you can see_?" asked the controller.

"It looks like some kind of huge black triangle" Harry told them. "Jesus…! It just changed course to hit me"

"_Alpha Foxtrot, expedite climb at maximum speed_"

"What do you think I'm doing?" Harry said hotly. Despite his undiminished skills as a Quidditch player, the object came around and followed him all over. "Is there anybody in the area at all?" he asked.

"_Just a carpet at 900ft_" the reply came quickly. "_But that is heading away from you, and should not cause any concern with regards to this. Can you describe what you can see? Is it a muggle aircraft_?"

"If it is" Harry said, turning tight left in a corkscrew, "Then it is something that I have never seen before. It is a black triangle and is very large with no visible engine. It appears to have four lights on the underside. One in each of the corners, and the forth, a much bigger and brighter light, is in the centre" Harry looked back to see it still following him.

"_Alpha Foxtrot, we have been told that it is no muggle plane of any sort known to us. Try any measures you think fit to protect yourself_"

"Understood. I'm going to try and flip over and head towards it. I might be able to get a good look at who or what is controlling it" and Harry put the broom into maximum speed, drew a short distance away from it before flipping the other way and heading straight towards it.

"_Broadsword calling Danny Boy. Harry, I don't think that think is piloted by humans. Or at least, not by anybody civilian_" Hermione's voice filtered through.

"You have got to be joking…" Harry couldn't believe his ears.

"_Try hitting it with a blasting hex. If it thinks you are going to attack, it might go off. They often do that when faced by a lock-on_"

"Wait…" Harry said. "That's an Aurora" he said, referring to the Hypersonic aircraft that had been rumoured t be the successor to the SR-71. He took his wand and painted it with a pre-spell lock. The triangle veered off course, turned right and headed away at high speed. "Broadsword and Inverness. Object is leaving the area fast"

"_Alpha Foxtrot from Inverness control. Resume previous heading and flight plan. Come right until you attain 334 and maintain flight level two eight_"

"Turning, Alpha Foxtrot" and the minutes passed. Harry was just on the outer edge of Hogsmeade when he was called by Inverness.

"_Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot from Inverness control. Just want to say thank you for all the years of happiness and joy you gave to us here. Wishing you a safe landing. Descend to flight level one zero for photos. Goodbye_"

"Same from here, Inverness. Goodbye" and Harry turned to Hermione once more. "Firebolt Alpha Foxtrot entering your airspace at 1,000ft"

"_Understood, and welcome home_" Hermione replied. Harry looked at the rebuilt castle which showed no signs of the immense damage caused during the battle. One could, if you had actually been there, still see the debris and bodies scattered around the place like a hand had swept them into a jumble.

"Alpha Foxtrot is requesting a flyby"

"_Granted, Alpha Foxtrot. At your choice, nothing will supersede your own judgement on this last flight_" and Harry went on to make a pass over the castle with smoke coming out of the broom's twigs, before turning and coming gently to the grassy lawns of Hogwarts. He slowly moved it up until it was inside the museum building and took it gently to the floor. With a waiting and cheering crowd around him, he rang off the dials on the broom's handle for the last time and climbed off it.

It was over

#

**One Hundred Years Later**

**(One Hundred and Ten Years After The War)**

I knew something was up when I got a letter.

Getting one from Harry was not, in itself, all that different from others I had got over the years. Whenever he and Hermione had hosted dinner parties over the many years that I had known them, I was always on the top page of their list.

The reason this letter was different was the way it was written.

_Dear Fliss Parkinson_

_You are invited to attend a dinner party held at the Potter Mansion on Tuesday 3rd June 3007. Casual formal will be the style of dress._

_Signed_

_Harry James Potter_

After what happened, it should really have been my first clue.

# # # # #

Harry knew it was nearing the end…

They had come from far and wide to attend, though it was for a limited number of people. The entire group of friends from the Battle of Hogwarts had gathered in response to Harry's summons. After Hermione's tragic death the previous decade, Harry had rarely been in a mood to have one of these events. Hermione had died after being hit by a car whilst Harry was away on business. Muggle doctors, not knowing she was magical, tried to treat her without success. Minister Susan Bones had ordered a week of national mourning.

"Thank you for coming" Harry said as his elves brought out the starter. "It has been a long while since we last did this" he added.

"Last time would have been at Griphook's burial service" Dean said.

"Too long ago" Pansy said.

"So what is the big occasion?" asked Seamus.

"I thought that it was time I had some private time with my friends" Harry said.

"Sorry, but I'm married" giggled Parvati.

"I don't swing that way" said Neville.

"There is, of course, another reason. Today was when it all kicked off" Harry said.

"I guess time really does fly" said Susan with a shake of her head. Harry picked up his glass of wine as the others did.

"A toast" he said. "To Hermione" and, one by one, the others mentioned the name of a friend or person close to them that had been lost during the war. Once they had finished, Harry had the last word. "To absent friends…" before they sipped the wine and started their meal. All during this time, Luna would look at Harry with a tilt of her head and a frown on her beautiful features. Something was wrong with Harry, though she could not put her finger on the exact cause.

"I like that mask on the wall" Padma nodded at the wooden mask to the right of the table.

"You can have it if you want it" Harry said. "I was meaning to chuck it out" he added.

"Why?"

"I got it whilst I was away – whilst Hermione died. I don't need a reminder of what happened that day hanging over my shoulder" Harry shrugged. "I understand that you are working on some kind of childcare reform, Hannah" he said.

"Mmm…" she finished her mouthful. "We're looking into building the most modern Children's Hospital with dedicated Healers. I also want to build new care homes for those orphaned by one thing or another"

"How much do you need?" asked Harry.

"Millions…" Hannah said. "Building, staffing and equipping these things is easy – getting the money is hard enough" she added.

"I'll give you a million" Harry said, sipping his wine. "On one condition"

"What?"

"Tell Susan to stop fingering you under the table" and Susan gave an audible squeak and pulled her left hand out from under the table.

"Ho… How did you know?" she stammered.

"Apart from the fact you have had that hand under the table since the start of the meal? The wards tell me what you were up to. And may I say, Hannah, I think it is very nice" Harry looked at the expressions of the pair.

"Well it is going to be stretched pretty wide soon" said Hannah.

"How long have you got left?" asked Harry.

"About another six weeks. I'll be glad when it is out"

"Morning sickness?" asked Padma.

"No" Hannah replied. "My darling wife is turned on by a pregnant woman, and uses that blasted magical dildo all the time" she looked at Susan who was cleaning her hand with a quick spell. "I'm going to find where you hide that thing and blow it to pieces"

"I still don't understand how women get pregnant" Fliss said.

"I'll explain when you are older" Pansy said.

"I'm a hundred and eighteen!" protested her sister. "What I meant was that I didn't understand how the genetics of two women could be altered to create a baby"

"With a lot of hard work" Hannah assured her.

"Has anybody seen Daphne and Seamus?" asked Lavender.

"They left in a hurry about five minutes ago" said Parvati.

"They could have said they were leaving"

"Upstairs, second bedroom on the fifth floor" Harry said. "And way to go Seamus…" he added.

# # # # #

We found out what Harry was up to a few days later. After dressing and putting on his old cloak with the Gryffindor crest and great hat, he had gone to Hogwarts to have a look around. After that, he had gone to museum to have a walk in his memories.

# # # # #

The broom was in the exact same condition as it was when Harry had left it, and the controls and dials still showed their last displays when he had rung them off over a hundred years before. Harry ran his hand over it, felt the smoothness of the wood and felt the power in the broom when he brushed it with his palm.

"I know" he said to it. "One more ride for me" and he took it off the display stand, mounted it and took off from the entrance. The sun was setting as he hovered over the grounds to take a long look at the castle. Then, and with a sigh, he gave the broom a slight touch of the helm, turned it around and moved away. As he headed into the brilliant and dramatic sunset, Harry could feel the wiriness stop being a problem, and his aching bones ceased throbbing…

# # # # #

They found Harry's broom hovering over the misty lake the following morning without Harry being on it. A search was undertaken on the surface, under it and on the edges of the lake – backtracking all the way to the museum.

No body was ever found.

The Goblins kept saying that he would return one day, but I never saw him again – not in my lifetime.

It hit his friends the hardest – more so than his family. Every year on the day he was last seen, we gathered to toast his memory and share stories.

Harry once told me that sunrises were one of the most spectacular and beautiful things in the world, and something to be enjoyed for as long as possible. And so, for the next hundred and thirty years, I got up early each morning to watch the sun come up.

Sometimes, and just sometimes, I thought I saw him watching beside me…

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**A/N:**

**So, what did you think of the final chapter? I hope it was good. Also, you wouldn't believe how long it took to do the THE END! I only hope that fanfiction allows it.**

**First of all, some references:**

**Harry's final flight on the Firebolt for retirement is like the retirement of Concorde. Alpha Foxtrot was assigned to the Firebolt by me as a tribute to the final flight of Concorde from Heathrow to Filton. A few other fics have had Concorde references in, and this one is exact as I can make it – even down to another person calling the Firebolt beautiful.**

**As far as most people know, the Aurora plane does not exist… But I know something a little more then others and believe it does exist as I, myself, have seen one here in the UK.**

**Harry's sending out of invitations for a final dinner with his friends is taken from the finale of Babylon 5. The part where Harry's broom is found without a body, the Goblins and the sunrise is also taken from that episode.**

**Before anybody points out there are no dials on the Firebolt, I believe a remark is made about some kind of compass or dial on Harry's Firebolt. If not, then it is a clip on attachment for his.**

**_Broadsword to Danny Boy_ is so famous you should get it easily!**

**Natalie McDonald sneaks in at the end because she is the only real person in the entire Harry Potter series, and because she doesn't get much mention. Her story is quite sad, and those that don't know should read it on the web. It made me cry the first time…**

**The final chapter could be taken two ways. Either Fliss was telling her version of the vanishing of Harry into the sunset _or_ the entire story was written by her at some point after the battle – You decide…**

**Finally, I would like to say how much of a pleasure it has been over the last few months to write this story, and I hope you have enjoyed it and would like to know your favourite parts of the fic. I do know that somebody once cried at work when Luna was killed by Harry. After a _much_ deserved break from writing, I will be back with a Harry Potter / Star Wars crossover in partnership with my good friend and ally XRaiderV1. My own HP/SW will also be done at the same time. My other outstanding fics will also be completed as I've been working hard to put them out into the fanfic vault for a more leisurely release schedule – I wish!**

**For the final time in this story, your reviews please**

**Warmest Regards**

**Pixel and Stephanie**

**(Undisputed Harry Potter Fan Fiction God)**


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